


Happy Ending

by pcworth



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-16 06:23:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 57
Words: 162,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3477767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pcworth/pseuds/pcworth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An Emma from the future comes back in time to figure out how her Happy Ending was taken from her and ends up at odds with her present day self. I should warn you that this story isn't exactly the fluff piece it starts out as. Originally posted on fanfiction.net</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Emma walked up the stairs to the room she and Henry had been renting from Granny since returning to Storybrooke. She knew they would need to look for more permanent accommodations but she really couldn’t think about such things right now.  
Henry was spending the night at Regina’s, and Emma hoped that they went well for both of them. It had been a week since Emma had brought Marian back and a week since Regina had been seen outside of her home. Emma had tried to go talk to her but the magical barrier she had erected around the place had kept that from happening. From what she could tell only three people had made it inside – Robin, Tink and Henry. She could only guess at what Regina and Robin spoke out. Robin too had been scarce this week, but Marian was with him from what she understood.  
It’s not like she intentionally set out to hurt Regina, but Regina seemed to think that way and all Henry knew really was that his mother was upset and it was his mom’s fault.  
She unlocked the door and went in, feeling around for the light switch. Once she flipped it on, she felt something hit her hard in the head and she went down.  
…  
Emma blinked several times as she woke on the couch.  
“Sorry about hitting you so hard,” a woman’s voice said and Emma turned in that direction, her eyes going wide. “Actually you know what; I’m not sorry. I don’t know what the hell you did to my life, but you are sure as hell going to make it right.”  
Emma blinked again, to no. 1 make sure she was actually awake, and no. 2 to make sure she was in fact seeing herself standing there against the wall staring back at her.  
“Who are you?”  
The other Emma sighed, “really? Somehow I don’t remember being this dumb. I am you. Future you.”  
“That isn’t possible,” Emma said standing up to quickly and feeling dizzy from the blow to the head that she sat back down. She had to admit the other woman did look like a slightly older version of her. Although clearly an unhappy older version of her.  
“You are the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming and you think this is impossible. You are the reason I am here, so we need to figure out what you did.”  
Emma did not like how “she” was talking to her and if she could get her head to clear the other her would be lucky if she didn’t cold cock her. “How did I bring you here?”  
“You didn’t, not directly. I brought me here, well I had help in casting the spell, but once I realize someone messed with my past to screw up my life I had the spell bring me to the place and time where things went wrong. It brought me here to you.”  
“That doesn’t make any sense. I haven’t done anything to screw up my life. If anything my life is going pretty ok right now.”  
“The spell would suggest otherwise, but what do you mean by your life is pretty ok right now?”  
“You know, it’s ok. I am happy and we just got done defeating Zelena and it’s ok.”  
“You mean Regina just got done defeating Zelena.”  
“Yeah, I mean we were there assisting her.”  
“You say your life is ok, define ok.”  
“I don’t know. It’s ok. Um my parents just got done giving birth to my baby brother.”  
“Neal?”  
“Yes.”  
“That is the same in my time line. Go on.”  
“I decided to stay here in Storybrooke to be close to my parents instead of going back to New York.”  
“Yes.”  
“Henry has his memories back.”  
“Yes.”  
“I just started dating Killian.”  
“You what!”  
…

Emma watched as older version of went straight to the kitchen area and began looking in cupboards, finally finding a bottle of whiskey Emma had stashed there, poured herself some and drank it down. The woman currently had her second glass in her hand as she was pacing back and forth muttering various things that were said too low for Emma to hear. Although she did catch a couple of idiots being thrown her way.  
Finally she stopped. “Ok, the first thing you are going to do is pick up the phone, call the pirate and tell him it’s over and you never want to see him again.”  
“I will do no such thing. Look I don’t know who you think you are, but you aren’t going to come storming in here and telling me how to run my life.”  
“It’s my life too and whatever you have done, whatever possessed you to start dating Hook, that has to be the problem here. Please God tell me you haven’t slept with him.”  
“That isn’t any of your business.”  
“Pick up the phone and call him.”  
Emma stood this time. “I will not. I like Killian. I want to see where this goes.”  
“Oh, you want to know where this goes, let me tell you where it goes. Up until about a week ago my life was great. Then I wake up in a shitty, one-bedroom apartment in Boston that has a fridge with more condiments in it then actual food. The only food is half-eaten Chinese food in cartons that look like a disease culture is growing in them. There are empty liquor bottles in about every trash receptacle in the place,” she said. “I thought I had been kidnapped from here and taken there for some reason until I started looking around and I find mail with my name on it. My clothes in the closet including my red jacket that I can never seem to throw away. I find my phone and there are only a couple of numbers in it that I recognize – my parents and Henry. I call my son and start to explain to him what is going on, and you know what he does? He hangs up on me but not before saying next time try calling when I am sober. That is there that goes.”  
“I don’t believe you. How can me dating Killian have that much of an affect on my life?”  
“Because dating Killian keeps you from who you are supposed to be with. Damn it Emma, we finally got our happy ending. I was happy, extremely happy and now that is all gone and I am not going to let that happen. So start from the beginning and tell me what led you to date Killian.”  
“Wait, you said you woke up in that apartment about a week ago.”  
“Yes, why?”  
“Shit,” Emma said sitting back down.  
…  
“Let me get this straight,” older Emma said once again pacing. “You and the pirate went through the time portal. You almost manage to keep your parents from ever meeting, thus endangering the chances of you being born. You try to fix this and in the course of doing so you bring back Robin Hood’s long dead wife Marian to this time. Robin is now with Marian and Regina is locked away in her mansion where Henry is with her now. And you start dating Hook because he gave up a stupid ship, is that about right?”  
“Um more or less.”  
“Wow, when you screw up you go for the big time, don’t you?”  
“You know I am getting more than a little tired of how you are speaking to me.”  
“Forgive me for not being polite, but my entire life got stolen from me because of what you did here.”  
“And what is so special about your life?”  
“For one, I am married, and have been happily so for the past four years. In addition to Henry, I now have a two-year-old daughter Alexandra, who I usually just call Alex. Henry loves being a big brother and loves that he is the big nephew to his uncle Neal. My relationship with my parents has never been better and I am still sheriff in this town.”  
“Married? I am married.”  
“Yes, happily, blissfully married. Like I said we finally got our happy ending. And I want it back, which means you need to fix things here.”  
“Who am I married to?”  
“Regina, of course.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Regina? What the fuck? This is a joke, right?” Emma said.  
“No this isn’t a joke. Regina is my wife,” older Emma said. “And I fully intend to fix this whether you are on board with it or not, or do you really relish the idea of living in a shit hole apartment drinking your brains out?”  
“This can’t be happening,” Emma said getting up and pacing. She walked over to where the whiskey bottle was and poured herself a double. “I must be dreaming; or still unconscious because this isn’t happening.”  
Future Emma sat down and watched as her younger self went on a little rant of her own. She hated to admit it, but maybe her wife was right when she said she should learn not blurt out the first thing that popped into her head. She kept watching until Emma went to pour another drink, so she got up and stopped her. “Perhaps we shouldn’t engage in dangerous habits,” she said.  
“Easy for you to say. I just found out I apparently get married to Regina “the Evil Queen” Mills.”  
“Don’t call her that,” future Emma said with force. “Don’t you ever call her that.”  
Younger Emma saw the anger in her own eyes. “Ok, fine. I don’t see her like that anyway,” Emma backed off. “But you have to admit this is a lot to take in. I mean me and Regina, it’s … it’s not even possible. Are you sure you weren’t under some sort of spell when you married her?”  
Again her older self looked at her in anger.  
“Why is this so hard for you to accept?” future Emma said. “I know for a fact you, me, whatever, thought she was hot from the moment we met her.”  
“Thinking someone is hot and actually becoming involved with that person is two completely different things.”  
“You are being stubborn. No wonder you screwed this whole thing up, seeing as you took my catalyst away.”  
“What does that even mean?”  
“Robin. In my timeline, Regina and Robin started to date and I don’t know I guess it was getting pseudo-serious, although what she saw in him romantically I still don’t understand. He spends more time in the forest than he does in civilization, and let me tell you to this day he smells like a forest. I mean Roland is as cute as can be, but ugh just the idea that Robin kissed her, touched her …”  
“Oh God, you were jealous,” Emma said.  
“I don’t know if jealous is the right word. It’s not like Robin was that much of a competition once I turned my charm on, but yes, it was them dating that finally got me off my ass to ask her out.”  
“And she said yes, just like that? Despite all the latent hostility between us, she just ups and decides to say yes because you asked her out?”  
“No, not exactly. It may have taken a few times before she actually agreed to go out with me.”  
“How many is a few times?”  
“Seven. Eight if you count the time I asked her in a text message, but I don’t really think that counts.”  
“Eight times? Great. Tell me, in this future of mine, am I as whipped as you seem to be?”  
“Cute. Really, but let’s get back to the problem at hand. You need to clean up your mess, which means you need to start by sending the pirate boy on his merry way. Then you need to go see Regina.”  
Emma went and sat back down considering all of this. She wasn’t just going to accept what this woman – even if it was her future self – as the gospel until she thought it through completely. Finally she stood up. “You are welcome to sleep on the couch if you want,” she said. “It’s probably best if you don’t go out as it will only cause confusion. I am going to bed.”  
“That’s it?” older Emma said. “Maybe I am not making the sense of urgency clear to you.”  
“No, you are. But here is the problem, while you may love your wife. I don’t love Regina, and maybe this happened for a reason – the reason being to keep you from marrying her. I don’t know. What I do know is that I am not breaking up with Killian, and while I will try to make amends with Regina, I am not going to pursue her romantically,” Emma said. “It may be your life; it’s not mine.”  
Future Emma could only watch as her younger self went to her room. “Damn you Emma,” she said. “You have to do things the hard way. Fine. But know this; I am going to get my life back.”  
…  
Emma woke the next morning and came out of the bedroom to an empty room. There was no one there and it didn’t appear as if anyone had stayed on the couch. She laughed out loud – a dream. She had the weirdest, most real seeming dream.  
“Married to Regina, yeah right,” she said going to the fridge and pulling out the carton of milk to drink from. She was drinking some down when she spit it out, nearly choking. She put the carton the counter and pulled the note down that was hanging from her freezer.  
“You might want to stay inside today. You are right; it won’t do to have two of us running around town. It will only cause confusion. Besides, I have your sheriff’s cruiser and your keys. I am going to see my wife.” It was signed me.  
Emma crumpled up the note and threw it. “Bitch,” she swore heading back to the bedroom to change clothes.  
…  
She pulled her bug up behind the sheriff’s cruiser and got out. She went around to the passenger side door and tapped on the window. She heard the door unlock and she opened it and got in.  
“You stole my car.”  
“Technically, it’s my car too; so no I didn’t,” older Emma said.  
“What are you doing out here?” Emma said. They were parked just down from Regina’s mansion.  
“I am trying to think of a good way to approach her. Clearly I need to apologize for the whole Marian thing.”  
“And how do you plan on getting in there? There is a barrier around the place remember?”  
“Please. Regina did the same thing on the night before our wedding because she was afraid I would sneak in and see her in her dress beforehand. The barrier didn’t work then; it’s not going to work now.”  
“Look I get it, really I do. You love her. But have you considered that this isn’t even the right timeline for you to fix as it were. I mean how do you know you aren’t supposed to be bothering some other version of us, I mean me? How do you know the spell you cast to come back here didn’t take you to the wrong place?”  
Future Emma turned to her, “I’m in the right place. What I can’t figure out is why you are so adamant against this. Have things gotten that serious between you and Killian?”  
“No, we haven’t been together that long. All I am saying is, I nearly screwed up my parents meeting in the past, and yes I saved Marian from death by bringing her here, but how do you know that this isn’t the way the timeline is supposed to be?”  
“I’ve spent nearly a week in the future of this timeline, and I am telling you right now, it’s not how you want to end up.”  
“I admit that being drunk and in Boston isn’t that great of an option, but now that I know about that I can actively prevent it from happening.”  
“It’s slightly more complicated than that,” future Emma said.  
“Did you come back to Storybrooke in that week?”  
“Of course I did. Right after Henry hung up on me, I packed a bag and drove the bug straight here.”  
“And what happened when you did? Did you see Henry? Did he give you any idea of how you ended up in Boston?”  
“Henry didn’t want to see me. In that timeline, he and I no longer have a relationship.”  
Younger Emma looked out her window. Now that Henry was in her life, she couldn’t imagine circumstances where he wouldn’t be there in it.  
“Why don’t you have a relationship with him?”  
Future Emma looked at her and then back at the mansion. “Because he hates me. He hates me for killing his mother.”


	3. Chapter 3

Emma was about to ask her older self what she meant by saying she had killed Regina when the other woman suddenly got out of the cruiser.  
"What are you ..." But she saw Regina had stepped out of her home and she ducked down in order to not be seen. She peeked up a little as she heard the other Emma call out Regina's name. She watched as Emma approached the barrier, put her hand against it and then walk through it. Regina who had been getting ready to go back inside stopped when she saw this happen.  
Regina crossed her arms in front of her - a move Emma found all too familiar. She wished she could hear the conversation or at least read lips as the two women conversed.  
Regina had not yet tried to set Emma aflame so she was going to take it as a good thing. Could these two, well her and Regina, really be married, Emma wondered. It didn't seem at all possible to her. Yes she found Regina to be attractive but that didn't mean she was attracted to her in the kind of way that led to matrimony.  
The talk didn't last much longer and Emma stayed ducked down until her duplicate got into the car.  
"I know it's only been a week, but do you have idea how hard that was to not just grab her and kiss her?"  
"No I don't. What did you say to her?"  
"I asked her how she was doing to start which only started her off on some blah, blah I don't care speech. Tip for the future when she does this you have two choices, either let her go until she stops or kiss her to make her stop. Never interrupt her."  
“I’ll keep that in mind. She didn’t try and assault you so I take it she accepted your apology?”  
“Hell no. She is completely pissed off at you. This is going to require a little more thought on my part. I would know how to deal with this if I was in my time. It’s not the first time Regina has been upset, although never to this magnitude, and at least in my time we are together so she would be more willing to listen to me. I kept it short and simple until I can think it through.”  
"How long do you plan on sticking around here because we need to lay down some ground rules? You can't just go out as me and start talking to people I know."  
"I know them too,"  
"I'm just saying people will think you are me. You could ruin things for me."  
"Kind of like you ruined them for me?"  
“I'm sorry that things went bad for you, really I am, but you had to have made a mistake. This isn't the right time line for you to be in. I will help you get to the right one if I can but this can't be it. Regina and I ... it just isn't possible."  
"What was your first impression of Regina?"  
She was caught off guard by the question. "Um, I don't know. I had just driven Henry here and he was saying all this stuff, and I don't know I guess she came running out to hug him. She was worried. And I thought she's a mom. She had adopted the son I had given up and in that moment I believed she loved him, despite Henry’s less than friendly greeting to her. I made her nervous, of course, being Henry’s birth mom and all, but I really had no intention of sticking around or interfering until she tried to run me out of town. After that I was suspicious as hell of her.”  
“Understandably so, but even at this point, you have to see that she has changed.”  
“She has, I won’t deny that.”  
“Then why do you find it so hard to believe that you can change too, that you can look at her and feel nothing but love?  
“What did you mean by saying Henry hates you because you killed his mother?” she asked to change the subject.  
“That is probably not a conversation for us to have while sitting here.”  
They ended up returning to Emma’s place, trying to be discreet about it, which wasn’t easy. Emma realized she needed to get future Emma out of there before she screwed up something major. Not only did she have a hard time reconciling the idea that she and Regina could be together, but this version of her also bothered her. This other Emma was practically being hostile toward her and didn’t seem to be at all receptive to the idea that she may have made a mistake in coming there. Older Emma was going to find out that younger Emma could be just a hostile when shoved into a corner.  
Once they got in the apartment Emma turned to her older self, “I want to know what you know about why Henry is upset with me, you, us this future time line and what is this shit about Regina being dead?”  
The two women took seats as far apart from each other as possible in the main room. “Like I said I rushed back here from Boston as soon as Henry hung up on me and I went straight to what should have been my home with Regina – the mansion. I get there and the place is deserted. What furniture is left inside is all covered up; there were broken windows and some vandalism. My heart was racing trying to figure out what happened and if Regina was ok, and where she and Henry were. I tried calling Henry again, but he didn’t answer.”  
“I wasn’t sure what to do so I headed to my parent’s place. They were surprised to see me. Apparently, they try and call often and I often don’t answer. I asked them where Henry was and they said he was with Robin.”  
“Robin? As in Robin Hood?”  
“We don’t know any other Robins. Apparently Henry is one of his merry men or whatever.”  
“That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.”  
“I know, but when I asked where Regina was my parents looked like they were ready to put in a mental hospital. Mom was all like, ‘you know where Regina is’ and ‘you have to let this go, you weren’t responsible,’ and I yelled at her to tell me where Regina was. They just got silent and my dad ended up taking me from the house to go for drive so I could calm down. We get in the car and he immediately starts lecturing me about not talking to Snow like that and not yelling in front of Neal and how I need to stop drinking. I looked at him and asked to please just take me to see Regina. He says fine and keeps driving and the next thing I know he is pulling into the cemetery. I ask him what we are doing here and he says, ‘you wanted to see Regina.’ I followed him back to the mausoleum and inside there it was – a small plaque with Regina’s name on it.”  
“I said, ‘how?” and he didn’t answer and I just lost it. I was on my knees, sobbing, seeing her name etched into the bronze and I felt like my heart was being squeezed out of my chest. This was my wife. The day before I woke up next to her in our bed and I kissed her good morning and the next day I am waking in Boston and I didn’t understand what was going on. I still had my memories of being with her, being with our family but for everyone else this new time was their reality.”  
“How did she die?”  
Emma turned away, as if the idea of speaking about it would bring the hurt back. Young Emma had heard the pain in her counterpart’s voice as she described going to the cemetery.   
“I finally got it out of him, how it happened. He thought I was crazy for asking, and I can understand why after all I supposedly lived through it.”  
She paused again.  
“Sometime after Zelena, while you must have been dating Hook,” she said getting a dig in. “Regina and Henry were in a car crash. A deer ran out in front of them and Regina swerved and the car spun. Regina was ok, but Henry was banged up – concussion, broken arm. You and Regina got into it at the hospital and the next day when the court was open you petitioned the court to be granted full custody of Henry.”  
“It was contentious between you and Regina after that with Henry stuck in the middle. Regina tried to get the petition thrown out and then tried to get it moved to a court outside of Storybrooke, both of which failed. It was essentially a character hearing. You, the Savior, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming versus the Evil Queen. And there was no shortage of people willing to take the stand to say you were the more fit parent. And there was no shortage of people willing to take the stand with their opinion of Regina. It wasn’t really a custody hearing. You put the Evil Queen on trial for everyone to condemn her, and condemn her they did.”  
“She um lost of course and you legally had Henry at this point and Regina had nothing. You took the one thing away from her that she cared the most for in this world like it meant nothing to you.”  
“Would you stop saying this like I personally did it,” Emma interjected. “I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t.”  
“I didn’t do it, so it had to be you. Don’t act like it isn’t within the realm of possibility for you. I am you. I remember what it was like when we first came back here to Storybrooke from New York. We came back only to help out with our parents and then we were ready to go back home with Henry. It didn’t matter to us that Regina was also his mother, or that he had life here. We weren’t thinking about him or anyone else. We thought we knew best and we wanted to get the hell out of here, get back to living a normal life.”  
Emma opened her mouth to argue, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t because she knew it was true.  
“So what happened? Did Regina go all Evil Queen on the town and I had to stop her and killed her?”  
Future Emma shook her head. “You know maybe I am in the wrong time line because I don’t recall being this so close-minded about Regina. I remember referring her to as Regina or Madame Mayor, not as the Evil Queen.”  
“Just tell me how Regina died.”  
“After she was left with nothing. I’m not sure how much time went by, but Henry snuck away one day to go to the mansion to see her because he hadn’t heard from her and you wouldn’t let him see her. He found her body in his room. No one even knew she had a gun.”  
“No,” Emma said. “What you are saying is impossible. For all her faults, Regina is like the strongest person I know, she would never …”  
“She did. And Henry blamed you. He filed with the court for emancipation and you didn’t fight it. Once it was granted you left Storybrooke for good.”  
“Stop saying I did these things,” Emma said getting upset. The idea that Regina would commit suicide, that Henry wanted nothing to do with her; the whole thing was beginning to feel overwhelming. “I didn’t do it. I won’t do it. Now that I know, I won’t contest her custody of him.”  
“That’s not good enough. I want my life back, whether you agree with it or not. That is why I am here. I am not here to make you feel bad about your life choices, although it’s not hard to do. I am here for one purpose and that is to get my family back. Now you can get on board with it or not, I don’t really care, but you aren’t going to stop me.”


	4. Chapter 4

Emma didn’t appreciate her older self essentially threatening her and her life, but she was beginning to see the other woman was upset and running on pure emotion. She knew what that was like and she also knew it tended to result in rash decisions and snap judgments. She couldn’t afford any of those.  
She needed to get her to calm down, and she briefly wondered how Regina would have gotten her to calm down. Then she realized, unfortunately for her, she there was only one way to do that.   
“How did you finally get Regina to agree to go out with you after she kept turning you down?”  
Emma saw her future self immediately seem to brighten at the thought of it.  
“We were at this school function, a festival of the arts or something like that. All the students had their art work on display, the choir performed, and there was this school play as well. Henry was helping with the play – behind the scenes stuff. When I got there Regina was already seated and I asked her if the seat next to her was taken. It wasn’t so I sat down.”  
“She didn’t say anything, just kept her eyes straight ahead. By this time, it was certainly clear that I wanted her to give me a chance. She seemed to be purposely keeping her eyes to the front so she didn’t have to look at me or interact with me. The play started soon after because I of course showed up at the last minute. I would have given anything for Regina to have made a snarky remark about it in that moment.”  
“I should back up,” future Emma said taking a seat. “The last time I had asked her out didn’t go so well. I had dropped Henry off at her place for the weekend, and I sort of invited myself in. Henry went upstairs and I followed Regina into the kitchen.”

“I thought you said you needed to use the restroom,” Regina said. “It’s down that hall, not here.”  
“We both know I didn’t come in to use the restroom.”  
“Then what do you want?” Regina said.   
“I think I’ve made that clear. I want a date, just one chance.”  
“I’ve already turned you down six times already. Even you should understand that means I am not interested.”  
“And normally I would have given up by now, but I know you like the attention I am giving you.”  
Regina turned toward the sink, “and what would give you an idea like that?”  
“Your smile.”  
Regina was glad she was turned away from Emma as she smiled.   
“Is the idea of going out with me that unappealing?”  
Regina turned back to her. “Have you forgotten that I am dating Robin?”  
“I haven’t forgotten,” Emma responded, moving closer to her. “But what you have with him isn’t exclusive yet, is it?”  
“We haven’t really talked about it.”  
“Do you want it to be exclusive?” Emma said moving into even closer so Regina backed up against the sink. “Or do you want to give someone else a chance?”  
Emma leaned in and kissed her. Regina pulled away immediately. “Miss Swan, maintain your distance.”  
“Fine,” Emma said backing off. “Just giving you a preview.”  
“I haven’t agreed to go on a date with you yet, and believe me if you keep this cocky attitude up, I won’t.”  
“Come on Regina. One date. That is all I am asking for.”  
“I will consider it.”  
“You either do or you don’t want to go out with me. There really isn’t anything to consider. I get that you are enjoying torturing me with this waiting game, but enough is enough. You aren’t the queen in this world, so stop acting like it.”

“Needless to say that prompted fight that got me kicked out of the house,” future Emma told her younger self. “So there I was sitting at this school play with her and she is ignoring me. I was beginning to feel stupid for even sitting beside her. The play finally ends and Regina doesn’t get up and I don’t get up and then she turns to me and says, ‘ask me again.’ And I am like what and she repeats herself. I say, ‘will you go out on a date with me?’ She said yes.”  
“After that well, a few dates in and she tells Robin she can’t see him anymore and she and I, we just started building a life together.”  
Emma could tell her counterpart was in love. The way she told the story, the way she would smile at different parts of it, or the way she just really enjoyed talking about Regina – it all pointed to her being in love.


	5. Chapter 5

Emma’s phone rang and she glanced down at it – Killian was calling. “I need to take this,” she said heading to her bedroom. Future Emma waited until the door closed and then snuck up to it. She knew she shouldn’t be spying on her younger self, but she also didn’t trust her yet. She knew she should – she was her after all, but at the same time she wasn’t her. She remembered coming home from the Enchanted Forest with Hook, who frankly annoyed her, especially when he suggested she ruined his rescue of her by rescuing herself.   
Then she saw Regina and Robin at Granny’s and it bothered her, but she couldn’t really say immediately why. She went home thinking about it, and again the next day she was thinking about it. She kept thinking how wrong he was for her. The main thing that kept coming to mind was that Robin didn’t challenge Regina – not like she could.   
She leaned toward the door and could just barely make out Emma saying, “No, I’ll meet you at your boat, but I can’t stay long because I have to pick up Henry after dinner.” Emma moved quickly from the door, not wanting to get caught spying.  
A few moments later Emma emerged. “That was the station. I am needed. Can I trust you to stay here and not go out?”  
“I’m you, if you can’t trust me who can you trust?”  
“Yeah, just stay here please.”  
“Ok.”  
Emma grabbed her jacket and left. As the door closed Emma picked up the first thing she could get her hands on – a framed picture – and had to force herself not to fling it against the wall. Getting angry never solved problems she could hear Regina’s voice in her ear. How many times had Regina said that to her? Regina, the woman who made acting emotionally out of anger famous, had over the years become a calming influence on Emma. She tried to channel that calmness now and failed miserably.   
Obviously this Emma had no intention of breaking things off with Hook, or else why would she lie about where she was going.  
“That’s fine,” Emma said out loud. “I miss my wife. There is no reason not to go see her again.”  
…  
Emma smiled as Henry answered the door at the mansion. “Hey kid,” she said momentarily forgetting that he was younger here and not as tall. He had gained several inches of height and was now taller than both of his moms. Henry looked at her oddly for a moment, similar to Regina this morning. She looked like her younger self as long they weren’t standing side by side for a comparison she could pass as her.   
“Are you going to invite me in?”  
“I don’t know if I should,” Henry said glancing back into the house.  
“It’ll be fine,” she said slipping in past him. “Where’s your mother?”  
“She’s in her home office.”  
“Thanks,” she said taking a moment to rub his hair – something she couldn’t easily do in her time because of his height. She headed back to the office and once there she debated whether to knock or not. Regina didn’t care for unscheduled interruptions and the way she felt about her right now would only increase her anger. Emma figured her best chance at not getting immediately kicked out was to not knock.  
“Miss Swan!” Regina said standing as she entered the room. “How dare you intrude upon my house.”  
“Sorry,” Emma said raising her hand up in surrender. “Really, truly, I wouldn’t have intruded if it wasn’t important.”  
“How did you get through the barrier again?”  
“Oh that, that is nothing. You’re a very good magical teacher is all. Really you can take it down. I assume you put it up to keep me out, so it doesn’t really serve a purpose anymore. Unless you are trying to keep others out, in that case you can call the sheriff – that’s me – and I will come and take care of it,” she said ending up at Regina’s desk where she took a seat in one of the two chairs facing it.  
Regina looked at her in confusion a moment before hardening her features. “Miss Swan, what are you doing here?”   
“I came to see you.”  
“About what?” Regina asked crossing her arms.  
“Look,” Emma said leaning forward. “I know this is going to seem like it’s coming out of left field or whatever, and I get it if your first instinct is to say no, but just hear me out, ok?”  
“You have one minute.”  
“One minute, I can do one minute. The thing is, I am sorry about the whole Marian thing. I know I said it this morning and you weren’t that receptive to it at the time, but I am truly sorry. I can’t say I am sorry for saving her life, but I am sorry for it’s affect on you. I know you probably don’t believe that right now, but I hope in time – a short amount of time you will.”  
“Is that all?”  
“No. You see I need you to forgive me, or at least not hold an ever lasting grudge against me for my stupidity. You may think I don’t get it, but I do. I understand why you locked yourself in here behind that barrier.”  
“You couldn’t begin to understand …”  
“Daniel. You’re thinking about how my mom’s actions led to his death and you are thinking about all the things that happened afterward, all the hurt, and how you reacted to that hurt. But you aren’t the same person you were before. You’re a mom and you have Henry and you aren’t going to go all Evil Queen on anyone but you don’t know how to have an outlet for that anger and heartache you must be filling right now. I get it. I screwed up and you’re angry at me so if you feel the need to go all crazy on someone I volunteer.”  
“And why would you do that?”  
Emma was struck suddenly on how much Regina had changed in the time they had been together. The defensive posture she had on display now was something Emma was familiar with from their many times being at odds against each other before they started dated. Now the only time she saw that kind of look from Regina was when she kept Alex up too late playing with her or gave Alex junk food.  
Her heart ached a moment at the thought of her wife and daughter. Little Alex with her brunette hair so much like her mother.   
“Because I want you to be ok, and I’d like to be a part of you being ok. I care about you Regina. And I know you don’t believe that right now and that’s ok too. I need to earn that belief. So I am going to get up now and I am going to leave. I am going to go talk with Henry, see if he needs anything and if he does I will pick it up and bring it back here. I think it would be good for you and him to spend a few days together. I was an ass for saying he could just stay the night. It’s not my decision, he’s your son too. So yeah, I am going to go now. I will see you later and hopefully when we see each other next maybe we can talk about, well whatever you want to talk about.”  
Emma got up and left the room, smiling at the dumbfounded look on Regina’s face. If she knew her wife as well as she thought she did, sometime in the next few minutes she would dismiss the entire encounter as some ploy on her part. Emma hoped she did because that meant not only did she know her wife well, it meant this Regina would still be receptive when Emma came calling next.


	6. Chapter 6

Killian greeted her with a kiss and Emma pulled back almost immediately.  
“What’s wrong?” he asked.  
“Nothing,” she said. “I um I think I may have cracked a tooth or something. My mouth has been a little sore.”  
“I will have to kiss softer then,” Killian said he placed a light kiss on her lips. “See there, I can be soft.”  
Emma smiled and they went down into the boat. Emma suddenly felt very nervous and uneasy about this. Killian had his arm around her waist and she moved quickly from the embrace. “Um this situation with Regina, I mean because of Marian, it’s been getting complicated,” she said. “I should have listened to you about saving her.”  
“If you had let me save you then maybe none of this would.”  
“I told you I am not the type of person that needs saving.”  
Killian sat down. “So what kind of chaos is the Evil Queen embarking upon today?”  
“Don’t call her that.”  
“Fine, what has Regina done this time?”  
“She hasn’t done anything. It’s just … look I need to work on fixing this.”  
“Perhaps the best way to fix it is to put Regina in the cell her sister just vacated.”  
“Killian, she’s Henry’s mom.”  
“I know, I know. But what are you going to do, wait until she casts another curse?”  
“She won’t do that. I think she just needs some time to process all of this. Henry is with her and she won’t do anything with him around.”  
“Sounds like you think it’s all under control then which means you and I can get back to having some alone time.”  
Emma suddenly wondered if Killian was even capable of listening. It seemed like he heard what he wanted to hear and then dismissed the rest of it. Then she mentally kicked herself for thinking like her future self. She wasn’t in love with Regina. She wasn’t in love with Killian either, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t a possibility.  
She felt bad suddenly for lying to her older self about where she was going but she knew if she had told the truth it would have ended up in another fight about her future. That is what the older Emma didn’t seem to understand, this was present Emma’s time and her future was to be determined by her, not from some version of her that may not even be in the right past time line.  
“I don’t really have time to stay,” Emma said.  
“You can make a little time,” he said motioning for her to come over. She took a breath and reminded herself that it was her choice as she stepped forward.  
….

Emma left the boat and checked her phone. There was a voicemail from an unidentified number. She hit play.   
“Hey past me,” said her counterpart. “I just wanted to let you know that you don’t need to go pick up Henry. I stopped by Regina’s and told her that Henry could stay with her for a few days. It’s not really my call to tell her she can or can’t spend time with her son, a lesson you should learn. Plus I figured having Henry at your place would pose problems since I am staying there as well. So when you are done doing whatever it is you do with Hook, I will be there waiting.”  
Emma nearly threw the phone as far as she could. “I am going to kill her,” she said storming toward her car.  
…  
“What the hell,” she said coming into her own apartment. “I ask you to do one thing, stay here in the apartment and you translate that to go and see Regina again. What is wrong with you?”  
“Care for a beer?” Emma said holding out a Bud Light.   
“No. And I thought you had concerns about my drinking anyway.”  
“I do, but I figure would be in need of one for this talk.”  
“There is nothing to talk about. You, you need to go back where you came from.”  
“That’s exactly what I am trying to do.”  
Emma sat down in frustration but not before taking the offered beer. She took a long drink to collect her thoughts. “You can’t be coming and going from here as you like, you do understand that right?”  
“I understand that it could cause issues yes. But you do understand I have one purpose here and that is to repair things so I can have my life back, right?”  
“I get it, I do,” Emma said more than a little annoyed that she was having this conversation with herself – again. “If you are really me, then tell me how would you feel if a future you came back in time and told you that you fucked up and that she was going to take over your life to fix it.”  
This time it was older Emma’s turn to drink. “I would be upset,” she said finally. “But I …”  
“No, no buts. Let me have this win for a least a minute or two.”  
“Fine.”  
They both drank the rest of their beers in silence and grabbed another one. “Does Regina even let you drink beer?” she asked.  
“I am not as whipped as you may think me to be. Yes I drink beer. She tried to get me to drink, I’m sorry to appreciate wine because apparently you can’t really drink it unless you appreciate it first.”  
“Sounds like something she would say.”  
“Yes, well that was a failed experiment that she will never try again. I on the other hand have successfully gotten her to drink a beer on occasion.”  
“No kidding.”  
“Yep. She was resistant at first, but she lost a bet and didn’t have any choice on drinking the first one. She admitted that it wasn’t bad, and so on occasion she will sit down and share some beer with me.”  
“What bet did she lose?”  
“I don’t think I should tell you that.”  
“Afraid to tell me too much about the future because I think we are way past that.”  
“No that isn’t it. I just didn’t figure you would appreciate hearing what the bet was given your thoughts about me and Regina.”  
Emma found she was now oddly curious but wasn’t sure she should open that door. “I think I can handle it,” she said finally, not wanting her older self to think that she could be made uncomfortable.  
“I bet her I could make her cum in three times in an hour.”  
“Oh,” Emma responded taking a drink. Then the thought of could she really do that came into her head and she suddenly did feel uncomfortable.  
“I did warn you.”  
“You did. It’s fine. I mean you two are married in your time so it’s natural that you know you would um be having sex.”  
There was a pause.  
“Is it good?”   
“The sex?” older Emma asked, stunned that she would ask that question.  
“Yes. I mean you know is she good?”  
“This may sound silly, but do you remember the first woman we slept with?”  
Pause. “Jenny Sampson,” they both said at the same time exchanging a smile.  
“Yes. Well when I, we slept with Jenny we thought that nothing was going to top that. She was more experienced, knew all the right ways to touch and draw out an orgasm. So fast forward to me and Regina, where this time I am the experienced one the first time around. I am telling you I had never been more turned on than in that moment because I knew I was giving her an experience like she had never had before. And ever since then, well it’s like a constant game of one upmanship between us.”  
“Who is currently winning that battle?” Emma said unable to stop herself from asking the question out loud.  
“She is. Here is a tip for you. The first time she asks if you like ice cubes, go with it. You will not regret it.”  
Another pause.   
“What are we going to do about all of this?” Emma finally asked. “I know what you want from me, but I am trying to be honest here with you. I don’t see it. I mean I see it with you. I see that you love her. But I don’t see it for me.”  
“I know you don’t. That is the problem. It really blind-sided me at first but there was just something about seeing her with Robin that made it click into place for me. But that is no longer possible.”  
“No, it’s not. And even if it was, I still don’t see it. I really do wish Regina well. I feel bad that she is hurting now because of what happened with Marian. I can admit that that I find her attractive, but the way you talk about Regina, the way you see her, that isn’t me. I like Killian. I know you may find that hard to believe, but I do. Does he have his faults? Yes, but we all do, Regina included. I would like to see where this goes with Killian.”  
Silence.  
“I have only one solution that I can think of then,” future Emma said.  
“Which is?”  
“I am not going anywhere. I can’t snap my fingers and go back to the future and I wouldn’t want to, not with the future that is waiting for me there. We are both here. We both have different ideas of what we want. So the only solution is for you to date to Hook.”  
“Really?”  
“Yes. I won’t stand in your way if that is what you want.”  
“What’s the catch?”  
“No catch. Date him if you want, because I have every intention of dating Regina.”


	7. Chapter 7

Emma rang the doorbell and waited for a few moments before the door was opened.  
“Miss Swan, this is three times now in the 24 hours you have showed up at my door unannounced. I’ll have to call the sheriff but I am beginning to think is stalking or harassment,” Regina said.  
She was full dressed in one of her power suit outfits despite the fact it was only just after 8 a.m.   
“It’s neither of those. It’s breakfast,” she said holding up a bag. “I brought bagels.”  
Regina stood there open confusion on her face. “Is this some sort of weird game you are playing, because I am not interested?”  
“No game, I swear, just breakfast. Can I come in?”   
“No.”  
“Please,”  
“Miss Swan apparently I am not making myself clear to you. I am not interested in bagels or more apologies or anything else from you. I want to leave me alone. Outside of Henry I don’t see where we have anything else we ever need to talk about it. I am done with you and your family. The less contact we have the better it will be for all parties involved. Now if you’ll excuse me.”  
She shut the door on Emma, who backed up. Not how she wished things had gone but not entirely surprising either. This wasn’t going to be like before, she could see that already. Regina was hurting and when they had gotten together in her timeline that hadn’t been the case.   
But she had dealt with her wife being hurt before.  
She had even had to deal with her being the one who had hurt her.  
…  
“I don’t know what to do. She won’t even talk to me,” Emma said as she sat her mother’s kitchen table. “It’s been three days and she won’t acknowledge me. I’ve tried sending her flowers, chocolates, I apologized and she’s acting like … I don’t even know what to say about it. The last time she spoke to me all she would say is that I didn’t even know what I was apologizing for. What’s that even supposed to mean?”  
“Tell me again what happened,” Snow said. “Exactly as you can remember it.”  
“I went out with Ruby, just to blow off some steam. Work had been crazy lately and with the wedding coming up it seems like I haven’t gotten a moment to relax. It’s not like she didn’t know I was going out. I told her before hand I wanted to go out with Ruby and she didn’t object then.”  
“Emma, tell me what happened. Don’t tell me what you think Regina felt about it.”  
“Why?”  
Snow sighed. “Regina is upset about something that has to be more than you going out and getting drunk.”  
“No shit, so why doesn’t she just tell me what it is so we can move past it. It would be a whole hell of lot easier than this fit she is throwing,” Emma said getting upset. She paused to cool down. “I hadn’t intended on getting drunk that night. I thought I would have a couple of beers, relax and go home to my fiancée. When we got there, the place was already packed. Looked like I wasn’t the only one who needed to let loose for the evening. And there he was Robin Hood.”  
“It’s not like he and I had ever talked about what happened with you know, but the few times we had been around each other we have kept our distance. Frankly I never know what to say to him. Ruby and I went to the opposite end of the bar from where he and some of his guys were and the evening started out fine. That was until Ruby started flirting with one of the Merry Men and suddenly there we were in the middle of that group.”  
“Robin started talking to me first – about alcohol and how the stuff back home is stronger than our processed stuff here, although our taste was better. I probably shouldn’t have taken that as some sort of challenge but I did, suggesting that he try something a little stronger than beer. He said he would if I did.”  
“So there I am going shot for shot with Robin. I mean let’s get real; this had nothing to do with drinking. He was just wanting to one up me because Regina chose me over him, except he is too infuriatingly nice to just say something to my face about it. Did you know Regina and he still talk, and do I say a word no, I don’t, why, because I know it won’t ever be anything but talk. She isn’t interested in him beyond this friendship thing they have going on.”  
“You’re getting a little off topic.”  
“Things were going fine. I was drunk, but not like on-the-floor drunk when of course fucking Hook walks in with his little sailor posse.”  
“Language Emma.”  
“Sorry. And can I just say how scary it is that you and Regina have the same inflection when you say that.”  
“Emma.”  
“Right, sorry. So he walks in and sees me. As you know as nice as Regina and Robin are with each other, things have not gone as well with Hook and I. He has pretty well maintained his distance since that time he made the mistake of making one of his crude remarks in front of Regina and she threatened to use her magic to make his dick disappear.”  
“He goes to the bar, comes back to where me and Robin are sitting, sees we have clearly been doing shots and he sits down like someone invited him. I gave Robin a look like let’s ignore him. We both take our next shot. Then Hook takes a drink from his whiskey and looks at Robin. He says, ‘you know mate lots of people in this town credit you for taming the Evil Queen.” Robin, who instantly gets angry, says, ‘she didn’t need tamed. She’s a human being, a good human being, which isn’t something everyone who is in here right now can say.’”  
“Hook gives him that grin that he thinks so irresistible and says, ‘perhaps not mate. I’m just saying what people have said. Course, your dalliance with her majesty didn’t last long after she and Emma decided to turn lesbian.’ I told him that was enough and Robin took it a step further and told him to leave. Both of us were on our feet at that time and Hook got to his feet and said, ‘maybe the queen will change her mind mate. Rumor has it that back in the kingdom she had no shortage of men willing to satisfy her. But this one, well that drink is the closest she will get to a stiff one.’”  
“I kicked him in the balls and Robin punched him out. His crew carried him away and Robin and I got back to drinking. We actually had a really good time and then I ended up crashing at Ruby’s place because I was so drunk. The next day when I sober up I go home and apparently by that time -- because it was the afternoon by that point – Regina heard what happened.”  
“And did you tell her exactly what you told me?”  
“Yes. She starts to get that disapproving look on her face so before she can say anything, I said, ‘look I was behaving myself until Hook got there, and when he wouldn’t shut up I dealt with it. I was defending you. I would do it again and again. If someone is going to talk shit about you whether it be Hook, or Blue or if your mom decided to come back from the dead, I would defend you in a heartbeat because I love you and that is what you do when you love someone – you protect them.”  
“And then she just got angry. She asked if I thought that is how it works, that love equals protection and I said of course you protect the ones you love and how could I look you in the eye and say I love you if I wasn’t willing to throw myself on a grenade if it meant protecting you. And she said life doesn’t always allow for those we love to protect us and I said I know but trying has to account for something too and if she expected me to sit on the sidelines then she didn’t know me very well. If I was willing to sit on the sidelines I didn’t have the right to say I love you. And she just stormed off and has been ignoring me ever since. So you tell me, what did I do wrong?”  
“Oh Emma,” Snow said shaking her head. “She’s not upset about you getting drunk and assaulting Hook.”  
“Then what is she upset about?”  
“She’s upset about what you said about protecting people you love.”  
“What? Why? It’s true. You love someone you protect them from being hurt.”  
“It has nothing to do with your love for Regina, or her love for you. She’s upset because you essentially just questioned her father’s love for her.”  
“No I didn’t. Her father didn’t even come up in the conversation.”  
“Emma, you know how it was for Regina growing up with Cora. You probably know more than the rest of us at this point. I can only imagine what Cora put her through. And the entire time her father was alive and was there. He never stopped it from happening.”  
Emma was about to dispute that it had anything to do with it, but then she remembered the look on Regina’s face when she had said that life doesn’t always allow for those we love to protect us. There was sadness there, not anger, only pure sadness.  
“Shit,” Emma said getting to her feet. “Shit, shit, shit. I am such an idiot. I didn’t mean … she has to know I didn’t mean that about her father.”  
“I am sure she does honey. I imagine she is more upset over the fact you don’t realize what you said hurt her in that way.”  
“I have to go,” Emma said grabbing her jacket.  
…  
Whenever she had a problem that she couldn’t discuss with Regina, which were few, she had come to rely on her mother’s advice. She realized now that she needed that. It was time to go see Snow. She just hoped her mom didn’t notice what others hadn’t yet – that she was just a few years older than present Emma. Snow was actually a very observant person, but future Emma also knew if she could fool Snow, everyone else in this town should be easy enough.   
Present Emma was not in agreement with her about moving forward with this – both of them dating who they wished to date. But she had told her younger self that unless she could come up with another way to restore her life this was how she was going to deal with it whether she liked it or not.  
They had agreed for now that they couldn’t be seen together or jeopardize each other in anyway. It was why she had to return to the apartment now so Emma could leave. She could always call Snow and have her come over.


	8. Chapter 8

Emma didn’t feel comfortable leaving her older self alone in her apartment. She didn’t trust the other woman – as ironic as that was.   
This latest plan of hers – them each dating who they wanted – was beyond stupid to Emma. How the other her thought that was supposed to work was beyond her. There was no way this didn’t end badly. She tried to remind herself that future Emma had clearly undergone a profound loss by losing her wife and her daughter, but she didn’t think that meant future Emma had the right to hijack her life.  
She wished the other woman would sit down and think logically about this instead of letting her emotions rule her. She knew she had the tendancy to the same but she would hope her older self would be more mature.  
The only way she had come up with to fix this was to send that Emma back to the future. But to do so would require magic and there were only two people in two who could manage that – Gold or Regina and neither would good choices. And while she trusted Gold less than she did Regina, she wasn’t about to go to her.  
That left her only with Gold.  
She waited until later in the day, just before Gold was closing up for the day to stop in. She realized she hadn’t seen him nor Belle since they got married. She spoke with Belle as she worked on closing up things. She listened as Belle talked about the wedding and she could see how happy Belle was. It reminded her of the way future Emma talked about Regina and she wondered suddenly what their wedding had been like.  
She shook off the feeling as Gold approached her.  
“What can I do for you sheriff?”  
“I was hoping we could talk in private about a personal matter.”  
“Anything you have to say you can say in front of Belle. We have no secrets.”  
“Um, that’s good and all but it’s sort of a secret of mine and sorry Belle but …”  
“It’s no problem,” Belle said giving Gold a kiss on the cheek. “You two talk. I will be at home.”  
“Now what is the issue because you wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t an issue?” he said.  
“First, is it possible that when I brought Marian back here that it would change things in the future?”  
“Possible? Yes. The future is never written in stone. You brought someone here that isn’t supposed to exist, so everything she does could have a ripple affect.”  
“Ok, but hypothetically let’s say I brought her back.”  
“You did bring her back.”  
“Yes, I know, but let’s say me bringing her back did something to the future and that future now isn’t um great. But you accept that it isn’t great because you believe now that you know it isn’t great, you can change it for the better.”  
“Take it from me, changing the future you see isn’t always what you think it is.”  
“Yeah, I’m beginning to see that. But um let’s say that someone from that future came back here to this time because their future is now not what it was because of bringing Marian back. Would there be some way to send that person back to their own time.”  
Gold looked at her like she had lost her mind.  
“This person from the future, they know their future changed?”  
“Yes. They know how it was and then when I brought Marian back it all changed, but they still remember their own timeline. So is there a magic way to get them back there where they get what they want, but here in the present we just go on normally as we want.”  
“Do you watch a lot of late night sci-fi sheriff?”  
“No,” she said getting frustrated. “Just is there a way to do it?”  
“I would be interested in how this person got back here in the first place,” he said. “This hypothetical person. We just saw Zelena try and go back in time to change things and that was no simple spell, so how did this person manage it? Knowing that might be the key to getting them back to their time, but I don’t see how that time would change from whatever they left. You did bring Marian back so a major change already happened, so that in turn changed the future. Let me ask you this, why do you want this hypothetical person sent back?”  
“I’m trying to protect us, this time. How would you like it if the person changed things here and in the future you weren’t married to Belle?”  
“I wouldn’t like that at all and would try to stop this person. Is that the case?”  
“What? No. I don’t know. I don’t know what your future is.”  
“But I take it you got a glimpse of yours?”  
Emma looked around even though she knew they were alone. She nodded yes. “Now I need to know how to stop it from happening.”  
“What are you trying to stop exactly? The future of this person, or the future you created by bringing Marian here?”  
“Both.”  
“Sorry sheriff. I can’t help you.”  
“What? Why not?”  
“Time shouldn’t be messed with. But I will tell you this – I would guess if your visitor from the future is here then they aren’t here permanently.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean if they got back here through magic, then there is only one rule,”  
“Magic comes with a price,” Emma said.  
“Yes. I wonder what price this person paid to get back here.”  
…  
When Snow got there with baby Neal, Emma hugged her and then took Neal from her. It had been a few years since she got to hold her little brother as a baby. She almost laughed to see him holding a little stuffed dog – something he still had in his possession. It was his prized stuffed animal and the kid through an absolute fit once when Henry suggested it be tossed out.  
They took their seats. “You sounded urgent on the phone, is there something wrong?”  
“No. I was hoping to get a little advice about Regina.”  
“Regina?”  
“Yes. She is still a little torqued at me for the whole Marian thing and I’ve tried apologizing a couple of times, but she doesn’t seem interested in it.”  
“It may be a while before she is willing to listen. She’s been hurt, and although you didn’t intend for it to be like this, it was your actions that caused it. I am not saying you should have let Marian stay there, but you heard Regina – she has to be thinking this is just like Daniel, just like me. Look how long it took for her and I to come to an understanding.”  
“Did Robin really make her that happy?”  
“I haven’t seen her that happy since … since she told me about Daniel.”  
Emma looked away for a moment. “If she could be happy with Robin, she could be happy again with someone else.”  
“I suppose. What’s this all about?”  
“I just … I need to find a way to get through to her.”  
Snow looked at her, studying her and Emma looked down at Neal hoping her mother didn’t realize she wasn’t exactly her daughter, at least not the daughter of this time.   
“Why is important to you?”  
“I can’t have her hating me,” Emma said. “I can’t let this happen to another generation of our family. She’s Henry’s mom and I … I care about her.”  
Snow exhaled. “I was just a kid when … I don’t know that I would have known what to do. But looking at it now –Regina gave into her anger, gave into all the emotions she was feeling. You have to keep her from doing that or it will be like her and I. If you want it to be different, you have to give her a reason not to give into that hate.”  
“She has Henry with her. She’s not going to do anything.”  
“I am not just talking about her reverting back to what she was like before. She has changed enough now that I don’t think that will happen. But there are other consequences to giving into that kind of anger.”  
“So how do I help her?”  
“My advice – she has to know you are truly sorry. Then she has to know that you care. Then she has to know you aren’t going go away. Think about it, with the exception of Henry all the people she has cared about in her life are no longer in her life.”


	9. Chapter 9

“This is exactly why this little plan of yours won’t work,” younger Emma was saying. “You can’t just invite my mother for a chat, especially about Regina.”  
Older Emma was getting a headache having the same argument over and over again with her younger self. She had told Emma about her visit with their mom so that way if Snow were to bring it up Emma wouldn’t make a fool out of herself by not knowing. But as usual her younger self was turning everything into a selfish rant.  
She went to the fridge and got a beer; at least if she had to listen to it she didn’t have to be entirely sober.  
“Are you even listening to me?”  
“I am trying not to,” she admitted taking a drink. “If you have some better idea on how to handle this, I am all ears.”  
“How about you go back to your own time and stop interfering in mine?”  
“We’ve been over this, even if I wanted to, I can’t.”  
“Yes, and you haven’t told me what that means.”  
“It means I am stuck here, and I will continue to be here unless the timeline resets itself,” she said sitting down. “In other words I need to get my wife back.”  
“How did you get back here exactly? You said you had help in casting the spell.”  
“Mr. Gold helped me.”  
“And what did that cost you because in my timeline he isn’t exactly into giving away anything.”  
“Nor in mine.”  
“So what deal did you make?”  
“That is between him and me.”  
“You see that right there, that is why I don’t trust you. I would not make a deal with him. Not after all I have learned about him.”  
“I was desperate.”

Emma was drunk. Why not, she thought. Everyone expected it of her at this point. She had an open beer bottle in her hand and three more left sitting on the floor of the mausoleum. She was staring at the plaque – staring at Regina’s name. It said Regina Mills, but it shouldn’t. It should have said Regina Swan-Mills. They had their names hyphenated once they were married.   
She reached out and let her fingers glide along the metal as she took another drink of her beer.  
“Emma.”   
She turned. “Henry?”  
He looked at the beer in her hand and on the floor. “If you want to disrespect yourself, go right ahead but could you not disrespect my mom’s resting place.”  
Emma looked back at that name. “I loved her,” she said, softly.  
“No you didn’t,” he said. “And you didn’t love me enough to leave her alone.”  
“No Henry, you don’t understand.”  
“What, what don’t I understand. Because I may have been a kid still, but what I remember is my mother crying as you took me away. I remember her yelling that she loved me and you sat there as we drove off like you didn’t give a damn. It didn’t take me long to realize that it was because you didn’t give a damn. Don’t insult her memory now by saying you loved her. I wish my last memory of her was her yelling that she loved me, but it isn’t. It’s of her dead body lying there. Now you get out of here, or I will force you to leave.”  
“This isn’t … this is all wrong. This isn’t how it is supposed to be,” she said, approaching him. “You have to listen to me. Regina and I, we loved each other. We got married, we were a family. You have little sister Alex. This … I don’t know what this but it’s not right. It’s not how it is supposed to be.”  
Henry grabbed her pulled her out of the mausoleum, shoving her through the door and she landed on the ground. He went back in, came out and threw the beer bottles beside her.  
“Don’t you ever step foot in there again,” he said staring down at her. “Go back to Boston Emma.”

“I’ve never seen such hatred in Henry or maybe anyone else before – at least not directed at me,” Emma said. “I told you I can’t go back, it’s true, but I also don’t want to go back if I have to go back to that. I’d rather die.”  
“I don’t want you to have to go back to that. But please you have to understand that you and I being here in the same timeline, each trying to date who we choose to date, it won’t work. You think I don’t understand, but I do. I don’t want that future anymore than you do, but you have to understand that it might not be possible for you to just make this timeline like yours. What do you think is going to happen if you start to see Regina, assuming you can get that far, and she then she turns around and sees me with Killian?”  
Future Emma took another drink as she considered what was said before finally speaking. “I admit that maybe I didn’t think through the whole you dating Killian and me dating Regina thing. But that doesn’t mean I am going to simply stop trying. What we need to do it come up with some sort of compromise. Hopefully something we can both handle.”  
“Do you have something in mind?”  
“Nope. Don’t have clue.”  
“Comforting.”  
“Well, you were the one who pointed out the flaws in my plan. What do you got?”

…  
Regina sat in her office reviewing some paperwork when her secretary beeped in. “Sheriff Swan to see you.”  
“Send her in,” Regina said rolling her eyes.   
“This better be official business,” she said, as Emma entered  
“It is,” Emma said. “We have a problem. The portal opened up again. Something or rather someone came through it.”  
“Who did you decide to bring back this time, maybe my mother. I am sure she would be great to have over for a family dinner.”  
“It’s not someone from the past.”  
“Then who is it?”  
“It’s um a me, an Emma from the future. I have her at my apartment.”  
“Another you? Just when I thought life couldn’t get any worse,” Regina said, closing her eyes a moment. “Did this you from the future say what she was doing here?”  
“Sort of. She um … she wants to talk to you.”  
“About what?”  
“She wasn’t really all that straight-forward actually. She um … she really wants to talk to you though.”  
“Then why didn’t she come here on her own?” Regina asked. She was becoming increasingly suspicious and the conversation just started.  
“I didn’t think it was a good idea. I mean she is me, sort of and having a me and a me at the same time probably isn’t the best idea, as I am sure you would agree.”  
“I would.”  
“I know I am the last person you want to see, but as you’ve pointed out these things usually have consequences and you obviously don’t trust me to handle it, so if you can put aside your hatred for me long enough to help me figure this out, I would appreciate it.”  
Regina considered it a moment.  
“You are right, I don’t trust you, which means I will at least meet with her and see what it is that she wants to talk to me about.”  
…  
Future Emma was sure this was a horrible idea. Her younger self was sure this was a horrible idea, but they had finally decided the only way to handle this was to let the cat out of the bag – that there were two Emmas in town. The idea was that future Emma would still have limited contact with townspeople except with Regina.  
She was now pacing back and forth hoping that her wife would soon show up.  
She hadn’t been honest with Emma. She could go back to the future without it resetting. In fact, she had limited time being here until she was sent back there. She couldn’t allow that to happen without getting the younger Emma on the right path.  
She stopped when she heard the key in the door. Emma came in first, followed by a Regina who looked unthrilled to be there.  
Regina walked right up to her and then walked around her studying her without saying a word.  
“You are the one who was at my door the other morning. You are the one who got through my barrier,” Regina said looking at the current Emma. “I was giving you too much credit clearly.” She turned back to future Emma. “Well Miss Swan what are you doing here and why did you want to talk to me?”  
“She’s Miss Swan,” Emma said pointing at her younger self. “You can call me Emma.”  
“Before I lose my patience Miss Swan, what do you want?”  
Emma froze. She wasn’t used to having her wife look at her with so much hostility. She wanted to go up to her, take her in her arms, kiss her, get her to see the love they shared.  
“I um … I came back to prevent a disaster from happening,” she said.  
“What disaster would that be?”  
“Your death.”


	10. Chapter 10

Regina picked up Henry at Snow’s place and drove home in silence mostly. Her thoughts were on the conversation she had just had with the two Emmas.  
“Is everything ok?” Henry asked her.  
She looked over at him, thinking about what it would be like for him when she died in the not-so-distant future.   
“I’m fine,” she said giving him a smile.  
“But you and Emma didn’t work anything out?”  
Emma had taken him to Snow’s and had told him that his moms were getting together to try and work out their issues.   
“We’re trying,” she said.  
They got home and Regina told Henry she was turning in early. She went upstairs and sat on the edge of the bed. She was going to die. That was inevitable, but having someone saying that it would happen soon was another thing all together.   
She thought about what she had been told.

“My death,” Regina said with more than a little skepticism.   
“Yes,” future Emma said.   
“And when is my death supposed to happen?”  
“Within a year or so,”  
“That is really specific.”  
“Would you like to sit down so we can talk about it?” Emma asked, hoping her wife would say yes.  
“I’ll stand thank you,” she said crossing her arm. “Tell me, if you are from the future how did you get back here?”  
She had already been told by present Emma that the future version had been less than forthcoming about how she had returned.  
“I used the portal. It’s still there in my time. It’s useless unless you can activate it with the right magic.”  
“What kind of magic would that be?”  
“Dark magic,”  
Regina looked at the younger Emma. “Things must change rather rapidly if the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming decided to dabble in dark magic.”  
“It wasn’t my magic. It was Gold’s magic. I made a deal with him in order to get back here to try and prevent this from happening. Look, I would really feel better if you took a seat and stopped looking at me like I am her,” she said pointing at her younger counterpart. “I understand that she hurt you with what she did in the past, but my concern is your future.”  
“Let me make something clear,” Regina said. “I don’t trust her, which means I don’t trust you. If anything I may trust you even less. Now tell me how is it that I die?”  
“You were shot.”  
Regina took a step back. Somehow hearing she would was going to die was less shocking than hearing that she was going to be shot. That seemed like such a mundane way to die. She had been a queen. Queens didn’t get shot.  
This time she did take a seat and she was surprised when future Emma took a seat somewhat close to her on the couch.  
“I am sure this is a little overwhelming,” future Emma said as she resisted the urge to take Regina’s hand. “The whole point of me being back here is to prevent it from happening though.”  
“If my death is within the next year, why are you back here at this moment in time?”  
“I don’t know,” she lied. “All I know is I asked it to take me back to where things went wrong and it brought me here. There must be something I can do here to prevent the future tragedy.”  
Regina may not have Emma’s internal lie detector but she sensed she wasn’t being given the exact truth. One look at the present day Emma was nearly enough go confirm it. She noticed the present Emma seemed to keep her distance from her counterpart and didn’t seem at all pleased that she was here. Obviously she had been here a couple of days, and she wondered what exactly future Emma had told the younger version.  
“Who shot me?”  
The two Emmas had gone back and forth about what to tell Regina. The one thing they could agree on was to not mention the suicide.   
“I don’t know,” she lied. “I um I wasn’t able to find out who did it in my time. That is why I am here.”  
Regina seemed to think about it.  
“I get that you don’t trust me, but all I want is to prevent this from happening,” she said, this time taking Regina’s hand. She felt the smooth skin of her wife’s hand. How many times had she held on to this hand? How many times had she kissed it? And she wouldn’t be able to do that again if she didn’t succeed here in the past. “I need you to be ok and I will do whatever it takes to ensure that.”

The rest of the conversation went no where. Future Emma wouldn’t give specifics, and younger Emma remained silent. Regina finally lost her patience and told them she needed to get home that she would think about it and talk to them later. She asked present Emma to walk her out to her car.

“I gather that you aren’t quite buying this story,” Regina said to her. “Why not?”  
“I don’t trust her.”  
Interesting, Regina thought. “Why don’t you trust her? She is after all you.”  
“You are the one who says I don’t think about the consequences of my actions.”  
“True, but it’s something other than that.”   
Emma looked away. One of the things she had been adamant about was that future Emma not tell Regina about their marriage or their relationship. It had set off a big argument, but she got her way after giving up a concession – no sleeping with Killian.   
“I am not saying that what she is saying is not true, but just her being back here is messing with our timeline isn’t it?”  
“Oh, so now you suddenly care about messing with a timeline. Why do you care all of a sudden? What did she tell you that she didn’t tell me up there?”  
Emma knew she was taking a risk, but she needed Regina to be on her side. “In this future, Henry hates me apparently because of you being dead. So you can listen to her say she cares about what happens to you all you want, but the bottom line is if it weren’t for Henry she wouldn’t be here. She’s trying to get back in his good graces that is all. Believe or not, I don’t want you to die either and not just for Henry’s sake. I think as long as we have enough information about it we can prevent it and there will be no reason for any large scale interference on her part.”  
“I see,” Regina said. “Well like I said, I don’t trust her nor you. But we do need to keep her impact here at a minimum.”  
“Maybe you can find a way to send her back home.”  
“Maybe,” Regina said thoughtfully. “I will have to give it some thought. In the meantime do what you can to keep her inside. We don’t need two of you running around.”  
“Thank you, I’ve been trying to get her to see that, but she won’t listen to me.”

Regina sat on her bed thinking it through. One thing she didn’t doubt was that she was indeed dead. Shot to death by someone, but who?  
She didn’t want Henry to have to go through something like that. Maybe present Emma was right, if they had enough information to prevent it then they could do it without future Emma interfering with the timeline much.   
She thought back to Emma taking her hand as they sat on the couch. When she had done so her first instinct was to move her hand, but in an instant it was gone. She didn’t know why but she felt the gesture was comforting and felt an absence when she did finally move from it. She couldn’t explain why she felt that way, only that she did.  
And the way future Emma looked at her was also unsettling. She didn’t look at her like how she was used to seeing from Emma. No, this Emma looked at her with a sense of expectation in her eyes like she was hoping or wishing for something that only Regina could deliver. There was sadness there too as whatever it was that Emma was hoping for wasn’t delivered.   
Still, this Emma looked at her like they weren’t adversaries.  
The two Emmas were the same yet different, and definitely at odds with each other. She didn’t think either one was telling her the entire truth.   
There was another purpose for Emma taking her hand, which only provided further proof that each Emma was working toward her own goals. She pulled out the small note Emma had slipped her when taking her hand.  
“555-7647. We need to talk in private.”  
She got out her phone and texted to the number. “When and where?”


	11. Chapter 11

Regina was pacing in her study, waiting for the doorbell to ring. It was just after midnight and future Emma wasn’t there yet.  
She was about to lose her patience and call her to find out where she was at when the other woman merely walked into the study.   
“How did you get in here?”  
“Backdoor key, which is hidden under the fourth landscaping rock in case of emergencies,” she said.  
“Did Henry tell you that was there?”  
“No,” Emma said. “I know because in the future you and I are … we are close.”  
“Close. As in friends?” she asked skeptically.  
“Close as in I live here,” Emma said.   
“That’s ridiculous. I would not have you living here. Did you take the place after I died?”  
“No. Maybe you should sit.”  
“I don’t want to sit. I want a straight answer from you about what this is all about.”  
“I told you it’s about preventing your death, but it’s more complicated than that. You see your death occurred in an alternate timeline, not the one I am originally from. I am here to try and reset the timeline back to my original one, which is a million times better than the alternate one. My younger self has been less than helpful so far reasons I can’t begin to fathom. That leads me to you.”  
“Perhaps you misunderstand the meaning of a straight answer,” Regina said, the annoyance clear in her voice.  
Emma hated that annoyed tone that her wife had somehow mastered. She only used it when Emma had gone well past Regina’s point of patience. Depending on what kind of mood she was in, she either backed down or confronted Regina directly and she wasn’t in a good mood.  
“How is this for a straight answer then? You and I are married Regina. You and I have been married for four years in my time. But because dumbass younger me brought Marian back to this time it screwed the future timeline up, placing me in the alternate timeline where you are dead and Henry hates me for it. Is that a straight enough answer for you?”  
“I think I need to sit down,” Regina said sitting on the couch.  
Emma felt somewhat bad laying it all out there for her like that, but Regina wasn’t the only one who had lost patience. She went and took a seat next to her.  
“You are really happy, you know,” Emma said. “In our timeline. You are happy, we both are. We’re a family.”  
“You, me and Henry, we are a family?”  
“And Alex.”  
“Who is Alex?”  
“Alexandra. She’s our daughter,” Emma smiled. “She’s two and she’s a handful. A bit of a hair puller. I wish I had a photo to show you, but I don’t. I don’t have anything to prove to you that I am telling the truth because it was all taken from me when I woke in the other timeline.”  
“Is she adopted like Henry?”  
Emma smiled again at the fact Regina wasn’t questioning her on the veracity of what she was saying. “No. You gave birth to her.”  
Regina unconsciously touched her stomach. “How is that possible?”  
“Artificial insemination,” Emma said. “We picked a donor that most matched me, blonde hair, amazing smile and sense of humor. Alex is perfect. You absolutely adore her. You tend to spoil her too, but I try to keep you in check.”  
Regina stood suddenly and walked to the other side of the room. Emma was afraid that maybe she had told her too much too fast.   
“The Emma from this time, you told her this?” Regina asked.  
“Yes,”   
“Tell me exactly what you told her?”  
Regina sat down again, which didn’t last long, as Emma relayed what had happened since she had come to this timeline. For the most part she stayed silent throughout the telling of it. Emma couldn’t help but watch her wife as she paced back and forth. Her legs were shapely that Emma for a moment got lost in thought thinking of running her hands up and down them.  
“What was your original plan exactly?” Regina asked.   
“To get current Emma to flirt with you and get you to see we belong with each other.”  
“And you expected that to happen easily?”  
“I don’t know. I guess. We’ve been married for four years, how was I supposed to know that my younger self wouldn’t jump at the chance to hit that?”  
“Please tell me I don’t allow you to be that crude in the future.”  
“Sometimes, but usually we are naked when I do. I have to say you are taking this surprisingly well.”  
“It does make an odd bit of sense. I always found her, you attractive. Marriage though. I admit that it a little hard to believe.”  
“Because you didn’t picture yourself ever getting married again.”  
Regina gave her a curious look. “You admitted that to me not long after we got engaged.”  
“Did you ask me or did I ask you?”  
“Um no, you didn’t get all the details. What would be the fun in that?”  
“Well it hardly matters if the timeline is messed up.”  
“It doesn’t have to be, that is why I am here.”  
“I am afraid the Emma of this time has no intention of dating me. I am rather insulted she would choose that lout Hook over me.”  
“Don’t get me started on the pirate. He has been vocal at times about our relationship. He hasn’t been able to get over me breaking up with him for you,” Emma said. “When Emma told me she was actually dating him, I could have dropped over dead. I really hope she hasn’t had sex with him.”  
“Had you um had sex with him?” Regina asked as her finger circled the rim of the glass which she had been drinking from.   
“No! Oh God no. Believe me there were a few times that I came close because you were dating Robin, who by the way you did sleep with in my timeline so no lectures.”  
“I hadn’t gotten the chance to in this timeline thanks to Emma.”  
“I am sure you aren’t missing much,” Emma said.   
“You really were jealous of him weren’t you?”  
“Insanely,” she admitted. “The shame is Robin is a good guy. I just didn’t like him being a good guy to you. And the fact you wouldn’t go out with me when I first asked just added to it. To this day, I swear you wanted to go out with me from the get go, you were purposely drawing it out though.”  
Regina smiled, “I have no comment on something I haven’t actually done.”  
Emma loved seeing that smile. That was the smile she woke up to, the one that could make Alex laugh, the one that she had smiled back to on their wedding day.  
“So now what do we do?” Emma said approaching her. She moved in close and took the glass out of Regina’s hand, finishing off the bit of whiskey in it and placing it on the desk.   
“I don’t know,” Regina said unable to tear her eyes away from the intense look Emma was giving her.  
Emma leaned in and kissed her. She couldn’t resist it any longer. She felt Regina’s lips move against hers and relished the feel of it. She needed to feel the comfort of her wife’s arms around her and she smiled into the kiss as Regina indeed wrapped her arms around her to pull her closer. It had felt like it had been years since she had been able to do this.   
Regina pulled back first, her eyes studying Emma.  
“We need to get this timeline fixed,” Regina said kissing her again.  
“And do you have any idea how to do that?”  
“We reverse your original plan,” Regina said. “This time I do the flirting with Miss Swan. Between you and I, we should be able to come up with some effective techniques to get her to see I am a much better option than the pirate.”  
“This is exactly why I love you,” Emma said pulling her in and kissing her.


	12. Chapter 12

Regina waited for Emma – the present Emma – to get there. She was waiting in her office with more than a little bit of nervousness built up in her.  
It was one thing to make the bold declaration that she would flirt with Emma in order to help reset the timeline, but it was another matter to actually do it. It’s not as if she hadn’t flirted before, but this felt vastly different.  
While she flirted with Daniel, that had come so naturally. Since then the only reason she had flirted was as a means to an end. She needed something or needed something done so she used her assets to get it. This wasn’t the same, although she tried to tell her mind that it was the same. She wanted something – this future that the other Emma had told her about, and flirting with current Emma was the way to get it.  
That was the way she tried to look at it, although not successfully.  
“Sheriff Swan to see you mayor,” her receptionist announced.  
“Send her in.”  
Emma came in and stood in front of the desk. “Please tell me you have found a way to send her back.”  
Regina found she couldn’t speak for a moment. Her mind had flashed to kissing future Emma and here was this other Emma who apparently wanted to do anything and everything to keep the timeline from being fixed.   
“Um … no I haven’t.”  
Emma sat down in disappointment.   
Regina stood up and walked around the desk leaning up against the front of it in order to put her whole body on display. She was wearing a charcoal-colored skirt with a lighter shade of grey button up shirt and no jacket. The shirt was buttoned up only enough to appear proper while giving a good view of her chest if anyone wanted to look at it.  
Right now, Emma was looking away from her entirely.  
“I am working on it however. We have a few things we need to figure out,” Regina said bringing Emma’s attention back to her, but Emma’s attention was on her face, not on her body. “As much I want Henry to be with me, we have to come up with some way for both of us to see him and you can’t really have him in your apartment if she is there.”  
“What should I do with her, tie her up, gag and lock her in the closet every other weekend?”  
“As much as I am sure you would enjoy that, no I don’t think that is wise. We need to limit her contact with others. I think we can both agree on that. That leaves only one option and that is when Henry is at your place, she will have to stay at mine.”  
“What? No. I don’t think that is a good idea,” Emma said abruptly.  
“How else do you propose we handle it then?”  
“I don’t know, but you shouldn’t have to take her in.”  
Regina would like to have thought that Emma was saying this so to not burden her, but the truth was Emma didn’t want future Emma around her.   
Regina sighed and took a seat in the chair next to Emma’s, crossing her legs toward the other woman. “If you don’t see Henry he is going to ask questions.”  
Emma stood up and began to pace as she thought this through. Regina let her pace for a about 45 seconds before she got up and placed a hand on Emma’s arm to stop her. Emma looked down at her hand for just a moment before taking a step back. “If, and it’s a big if at this point, if we send her to your house while I have Henry what are you going to do with her?”  
Regina could think of a few things she would like to do with her.   
“I don’t imagine I will be doing anything with her. She can stay in a guest room. As long as she doesn’t leave the house or trash the place, I am not concerned with what she does with her time.”  
“You aren’t curious at all about this future she comes from?”  
“My concern is with not dying. Otherwise I don’t think any person should have too much knowledge of their futures. It could have a ripple effect with unforeseen consequences. As I tried to tell you before.”  
“I don’t really need another lecture about it.”  
“No I don’t suppose it would matter,” Regina said turning away from her. “At least your older self had the decency to try and apologize.”  
“You erected a magical barrier to prevent me from coming in,” Emma said. “It’s not as if I didn’t think I should say I was sorry, but you didn’t make it exactly easy.”  
“Maybe that was the point,” Regina said facing her, and putting her hands on her hips to widen her stance. This wasn’t going well so far and seemed to be headed toward yet another one of their arguments.  
But this time when Emma looked away and then looked back at her, she caught it – the barest of glimpses, but it had happened. Emma had just looked at her chest before looking her in the eyes.  
“Do you think we can put aside our differences long enough to handle this situation?” Emma said.  
“I don’t want to be odds with you,” Regina said.  
“Good because I don’t want to be at odds with you either,” Emma said. “We’ve shown we can work together toward a common goal before; and this is like that.”  
“Then let’s work together. When Henry is with you, she stays with me. Your suggestion about tying her up and gagging her isn’t an entirely unpleasant idea,” she smiled.  
“Um, yeah we should um probably avoid doing that,” Emma said. “Look if she says something or does anything that would upset you while staying there … I just don’t want that to happen. I am already on your shit list, and I don’t need to add my future self’s transgression to that.”  
“You are not my shit list as you call it,” Regina said. “Was I angry at you? Yes. Am I still angry at you? No, but I am a bit upset with you, although not for the reason you may think.”  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
“A future you has come back to prevent my death, but your biggest concern is sending this woman back. And like I said, she at least apologized.”  
Regina moved back behind her desk, she knew this round was over and while she certainly didn’t succeed she felt better for letting the Savior know how she felt about her lack of concern. This may be her future wife, but that didn’t mean she was going to let even her wife get away with treating her in a way she didn’t deserve.  
Emma was looking at the floor and then looked up. “We will need to figure out how to get her to your place discreetly,” she said.  
“I figure you can merely bringing her with you when you pick up Henry. Before Henry goes out, you make sure she goes around to the back door and I will let her in and then once you are back in your car, Henry can be sent out to you.”  
“Ok, that sounds like the best option. I will pick Henry up Friday, then?”  
“Yes.”  
“Ok,” Emma said and she walked to the door.  
“And Miss Swan,” Regina said. ‘Thank you.”  
“For what?”  
“For not apologizing when I pointed it out. If you are truly sorry, you will know the right time to do it.”  
Emma didn’t say anything and walked out.  
Regina sat down and got out her phone.  
“Didn’t go well,” she texted to future Emma.  
“It couldn’t have gone too bad,” she replied.  
“It did.”  
“Ok, don’t get discouraged. U can do this.”  
“This would be easier if I only had to win you over.”  
“You’ve already done that, which means U can do it again with her.”  
“All she is concerned with is getting you out of this time.”  
“I know.”  
“What if we can’t fix this?”  
“U can’t think like that. She is me. I love U, which means she does.”  
Regina smiled at the ‘I love U,’ and wished she could feel as positive about it as future Emma. Right now she felt like current Emma was the kind of person who would put her on trial, take her son from her. No, that wasn’t true either. Somehow she knew Emma wouldn’t do that to her. But Emma certainly didn’t seem to be interested in her beyond a means to an end – that end being sending future Emma back.  
Regina wouldn’t let that happen. The only way future Emma was going back was if it was to the right timeline.  
She needed to do a better job next time around, be less confrontational with her. And maybe a little less Madame Mayor looking.   
She sent one more text message, “tell me, how do you feel about me wearing leather?”  
Future Emma sent her back a smiling face emoticon.  
“Leather it is then,” she said to herself.


	13. Chapter 13

Emma asked future Emma to wear a hat so as to hide her features as they got out of the car. The other Emma was carrying a small bag of clothes and items she might need for the weekend. Younger Emma felt like she was escorting a prisoner, only because she didn’t really trust her future self not to do something stupid. They made their way to Regina’s backyard and knocked on the door. She knocked again when Regina didn’t answer. She didn’t want to be too loud. The last thing she needed was Henry opening the door and seeing two versions of her.  
Finally the door opened.  
“Sorry,” Regina said. “I was having a little wardrobe malfunction.”  
Emma found no response in her throat. Here was Regina standing in front of her wearing jeans, leather riding chaps and a white short-sleeved shirt that was cut low – very low.  
“Hold on,” Regina said as if she didn’t realize she had two women staring at her. Regina turned slightly and bent over releasing the buckle on the end of chaps that went around the bottom of her leather riding boots.   
There wasn’t a bit of that outfit that wasn’t absolutely pinned to Regina like it had been painted on. When she bent over the Emmas had a view of her jean covered ass. Future Emma could hardly turn away from it but she had to in order to look at her younger self, who was indeed mirroring the stare she had on her face just moments before.   
Regina straightened up. “You can go in there,” Regina pointed to a door. “It’s a small pantry, but until Henry is out of the house I would appreciate it if you remained hidden.”  
“Sure thing,” Emma said as she moved across the threshold and as she moved behind Regina who was facing the other Emma, future Emma took the opportunity to again check out her wife’s ass. When she looked up she saw her other self glaring at her. She made herself scarce so Regina could have a little alone time.  
Present Emma, who still hadn’t said anything, finally came out of her stupor. She motioned for Regina to step outside.  
“What are you wearing?” she asked, although that is not what she meant to say.  
“Um, I took the day off actually and decided to go horseback riding. I hadn’t been in a long time,” Regina said.  
Emma thought she saw a trace of sadness cross Regina’s face as she said it.  
“Oh,” Emma said. “I’m just not used to seeing you dress so … um casual.”  
“Yes, it’s not my usual type of dress, but it’s comfortable for riding in. My mother always insisted that I ride side-saddle as it was more befitting a lady, but it wasn’t my style. I like to feel the horse between my legs. You can actually feel its muscles moving especially when you let it gallop. Have you ever had the pleasure of feeling like that between your legs?”  
Emma wasn’t sure she heard her right. “Um, I grew up in cities, not a lot of horses,” she managed to say.  
“Too bad. We have a fine stable here in Storybrooke, you should take advantage of it. Anyway, I am sure you didn’t beckon me out here to talk about horses.”  
“No. I just wanted to make sure you were still ok with this, with her being here.”  
“Ok with it only in the sense that it will allow you to spend time with Henry,” she said. “I think it’s important that he be able to see both of us as much as possible. He has had a lot of changes in his life in a short amount of time and a sense of stability would do him good.”  
“Yeah, I’d like that if we could you know work something out that works for all of us.”  
“Maybe after we deal with your counterpart in there we could discuss some options.”  
“That would be good. Speaking of her, I mean it if she does anything or says anything to upset you, let me know immediately. Henry or not, I will come over and deal with it if needed.”  
“Thank you for your concern, but like I said before, she can stay in the guest room. There is no reason for her and me to have much contact. This isn’t a slumber party.”  
Emma thought of how her future self would like it if it was a slumber party – at least one where she got to be in bed with Regina. She had a long talk with her about respecting Regina’s boundaries, not pissing her off and above all remembering that this wasn’t her wife.  
“Alright, well if you need anything, call,” Emma said. “I’m going go around front and you can send Henry out.”  
“I will. Have a good weekend sheriff,” she said turning and going back inside. She didn’t need to turn to see if Emma was still there watching her go, she could hear that she hadn’t moved. Regina couldn’t help but smile.  
She entered the foyer and called out to Henry that Emma was outside. He came downstairs and she hugged Henry goodbye and closed the door behind him. She entered the kitchen.  
“You can come out now,” Regina said, and future Emma opened the door and rushed out pulling Regina into her arms and kissing her.  
“You do not have this outfit in my time,” she said.   
“Special order,” Regina said kissing her back. “Do you think it did the trick?”  
“Oh, it certainly did for me.”  
Regina pulled away, “the point wasn’t for it to do the trick for you. It was meant to entice Miss Swan.”  
“She was enticed. Trust me,” Emma said moving close again.  
“I think we should establish some ground rules for you staying here,” Regina said taking a step back.   
“Rules,” Emma groaned. “Now you sound like her. Do you know she gave me like an hour long lecture about respecting you and your boundaries?”  
“She did?” Regina asked, finding that kind of endearing on Emma’s part.  
“Yes she did. Do you know how annoying it is to be lectured by your younger self about touching your own wife?”  
“That’s sort of my point with the ground rules. I am not your wife. The goal is to become your wife, but I am not currently. And if I am to become your wife I have to make that connection with my Emma, the one from this time. I think it might be best if we refrained from physical contact.”  
“What?”  
“I just think it would be best for all involved.”  
“It’s not best for me.”  
Regina smiled. “That may be so, but I am asking you to not make this more difficult than it already is.”  
“You mean like not doing things like this,” Emma said and she again pulled Regina to her, this time attaching her lips to Regina’s neck. She kissed and sucked gently on that area, practically hearing Regina’s heart beat race as she did it. She certainly had the advantage here of knowing what turned Regina on.  
Regina felt herself getting lost in the feeling of Emma’s lips on her skin, and as much as she wanted to get lost in it, she pulled back. “Um that is exactly what we can’t do,” she warned.  
“You are no fun. Next thing you will be telling me I have to sleep in the guest room.” Emma said the look on Regina’s face. “You want me to sleep in the guest room?”  
“It’s for the best.”  
Emma growled, “This is so unfair,” before leaving the room.  
Regina got the feeling this was going to be a long weekend.  
…  
Henry got in the car and Emma started to drive them to her place.  
“Sorry I haven’t been able to see you much lately,” she said.  
“It’s ok. I’ve got to spend time with mom and I think she needed me more.”  
“She probably did.”  
“She took the day off from work today on her own. I don’t think she’s ever done that unless I was sick.”  
“She’s been through a lot lately, it was probably good for her.”  
“She went horseback riding. You should have seen what she was wearing. I’ve never seen her wear something like it.”  
“I am sure she looked good,” Emma said, thinking about that outfit. Ruby had once joked about Regina wearing leather when she was the Evil Queen and Emma had seen her in all her Evil Queen glory in the past. The woman definitely knew how to dress for effect, but what she was wearing today didn’t make her look like the Evil Queen. If anything it made her seem younger. Younger wasn’t the right word, but Emma couldn’t find a word to describe it.  
It was both sexy and innocent. She wanted to hit herself in the head for thinking sexy, but it was true. Regina had always looked sexy to her, which her older self had pointed out. Still being physically attracted to her was one thing, but dating. Her and Regina. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what that would entail. They were both dominant kind of women who found more things to fight about than agree about.   
She made her mind stop thinking about it. But it wasn’t easy. Ever since her future self had appeared and planted this seed in her mind it was all she could think about.  
She tried to picture in her head what it would be like to ask Regina out and despite hearing her older self tell her about it, she just couldn’t see it happening in her time. There had been so much hurt between her and Regina, and it had now been compounded by her bringing Marian back.  
She didn’t want Regina to die. She didn’t want that future where her son hated her. She knew she needed to work out something with Regina so they could both have time with Henry and hopefully that would be enough to stop Regina’s death.   
The idea that Regina would kill herself was unfathomable to her. This woman had gone through too much already and survived it. But she also knew Henry was Regina’s whole world and losing him may have been enough to push her over the edge.   
Regina was a good mother. She had her faults yes, but every time Emma looked at Henry she knew this was a good kid because Regina had raised him to be a good kid. She imagined Regina would be a good mother to Alex as well and Emma wondered if she would be a good mother. She hadn’t raised Henry except for in the memories Regina had given her. She had given Henry up because she believed she couldn’t give Henry a good life because of the situation she was in at the time. But she wasn’t that person anymore. Could she be a good mother to a child?  
…  
By breakfast on Saturday morning, Emma was finding this whole maintaining her distance thing nothing short of torture. Once she and Regina had firmly established their relationship they had always been touchy people. Even if it was a slight touch of the hand, a hug or a kiss, they both seemed to crave contact from the other. She had tried to kiss her goodnight before going to the guest room but Regina wasn’t having any of it.  
She did understand Regina’s point about how she was supposed to be concentrating on present day Emma, but it didn’t make it any easier for her. They were sitting at the kitchen table with Regina sitting on the end and Emma to her side.  
“What’s the plan for today?” Emma asked her.  
“My plan was to research some magic to see about sending you back to your own time,”  
“What?”  
“Relax,” Regina said in a calming voice. “I told Emma I would look into it and seeing as it’s a way for her and I to talk more I thought it would be a good idea. I have no intention of sending you back. You said before you will go back on your own as soon as the timeline resets, right?”  
“Yes. While you are doing that, what am I supposed to do?”  
“I don’t know. What do you do in your time when you aren’t working?”  
“I seduce my wife on a daily basis,” she smiled.  
“I am sure she appreciates that, but since that isn’t an option, tell me what does Emma Swan like to do?”  
“I don’t know. Baseball, I like baseball, so sometimes I will sit and watch a game. During the summer I play softball in adult rec league. A lot of my non-work time is taken up by family stuff. We have a two-year-old and while you went through all of that with Henry, this is my first go around. My paranoia has known no bounds when it comes to Alex.”  
“Really? I honestly wouldn’t have guessed that.”  
“Oh yeah. When she was first born every time she would cry I was sure there was something wrong. You would say she’s just being fussy or this is what babies do. I am sure you got a kick out of seeing me stumble through it all.”  
“I was certainly no expert,” Regina said. “When I first got Henry I had little to no idea what to do with a kid. You find a lot it trial and error.”  
“Well it would be easier if my wife didn’t spoil Alex.”  
“And how does she do that?”  
“Alex loves to go outside. When she wants to go out, you almost always take her. You need to learn a little more restraint or the kid is going to grow up thinking she can have whatever she wants. God, the first time you sternly told her no I am not sure who got more upset, the kid or you.”  
“I am sure I am not that bad.”  
“You just wait and see.”  
“I certainly hope I get to see it first hand.”  
“You will,” Emma said touching her hand. “We will get there, together.”


	14. Chapter 14

Emma was bored. She hated being bored. Regina was in her home office researching some magic and she had been left to her own devices. She had laid on the couch watching TV for a bit, but found that boring as anything she wanted to watch for her was a like a rerun. Then she went walking through the house thinking of how much it had changed since she and Regina married. Right now it was a picture of order, but in her time it was clean and orderly just not quite as orderly as it was now.  
Alex’s toys were often scattered about in different places. There were sometimes condensation rings on end tables where Emma wouldn’t put down a coaster first. There was a lot more laundry to be done.   
She wondered upstairs and stood standing in the doorway of what was now Regina’s bedroom, but would later become their bedroom. The bed was different as a mishap with the handcuffs one night damaged the headboard which Regina was unto pleased about. She had been highly upset that her bed, which she pointed out on numerous occasions had a hand-carved headboard, had been “destroyed” as she put it. When Emma had suggested she could get some wood glue and fix it she got a 45-minute lecture on how one does not glue a wooden masterpiece.  
It also didn’t help when Emma pointed out that it was Regina in the handcuffs so technically she broke the bed.   
That had happened before they were married. Regina had gone to Gepetto to see about getting a new one and it was that bed that was the one they shared as a married couple.   
There were so many memories in that bed.

“Hey kid, can you hear me? It’s me Emma,” she said as she lay next to her pregnant wife. She had read how children could hear in the womb and she wanted her child to come out feeling connected to her voice. “It won’t be long now until you get to come outside and I get to hold you and feed you and play with you. We’re going go to have so much fun.”  
Regina merely smiled at Emma, who had made this a nearly nightly thing over the last couple of weeks. She wasn’t wrong though, it wouldn’t be much longer before their daughter arrived. The pregnancy had gone smoothly and Regina was way past the glowing stage of it and was more than ready to give birth.   
“Do you think the kid is going to like me?” Emma asked suddenly.  
“She’s going to come out saying your name if you keep up all of this nightly talking.”  
“I’m being serious.”  
Regina looked at her, seeing the serious expression on her face.  
“Of course she is going to like you. Why would you think otherwise?”  
“I don’t know,” Emma shrugged. “I guess you know I’ve never really been a mom before.”  
“That’s ridiculous. You are Henry’s mom, he likes you.”  
“Yeah, but that is different. I didn’t know Henry as a little kid so when I did meet him it’s not like I acted like a mom to him. We were more like secret buddies. He called me Emma for how long? This is my first time being mom from the get go.”  
She had spent most of the pregnancy trying to be supportive of Regina and completely attentive of her needs that she hadn’t discussed her own fears about being a parent.   
“Listen to me. Our daughter is going to love you from the first moment she gets here because you love her. I know you didn’t get the chance to hold Henry when he was first born, but you will get that chance with her. It’s not going to be perfect,” Regina said taking Emma’s hand and placing it flat against her belly. “But this little girl is going to be the light of your life just a much as Henry is and as long as you show her that she is going to think you are super mommy.”  
Emma moved and gave Regina a kiss before settling back down on the bed.  
“Hey kid,” she said resuming her conversation. “There is a word you need to learn. It’s called sports. You might be a girl but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a standout athlete. Now your other mom is probably going to try to get you into gymnastics, ice skating or cheerleading, which are all fine choices, but let’s be honest you are going to have more fun playing softball. I’m going to get you a bat and a ball, plastic at first, but I think your development will happen quickly. We need to decide if you are a pitcher rather quickly though because that’s a different skill set to concentrate on.”

Future Emma thought about that night – it turned out to be just three days before Alex was born. Traditionally, the mother gets to hold the child first, but when the nurse moved to hand Regina their daughter, Regina told her to let Emma hold her first. She gave Emma the moment she had lost when Henry was born.   
That was the thing with Regina. She could be this total hardass about some things – like not putting wet towels on the bed or floor – then she would turn around and do something completely touching. It was in those moments that Emma loved her most.  
She turned from the bedroom and went downstairs. Maybe it was time for her wife to take a break. She made it to the office door as Regina was coming out of it.  
“Done?” Emma asked hopefully.  
“Not even close,” she said. “I need to go to the mausoleum to gather a couple of other books. Will you be ok here by yourself?”  
“How will you be gone?”  
“Hopefully no more than an hour, but it could be a little longer. I am not even sure I have what it is I am looking for and will need to go through some of my mother’s stuff as well.”  
“Ok, I will just watch TV or maybe go up to Henry’s room and play some video games. Do you think when you get back that we might spend some time together?”  
“I would like that.”  
Emma went back upstairs but mostly so she could watch for Regina to leave the house. She waited another five minutes to make sure Regina didn’t come back for some reason. She disguised her features as best as she could and slipped out of the house.  
She had a deal she had to complete.  
…

Emma sat back against the railing of Killian’s boat. He had offered to take her and Henry out for a sail. She had noticed Henry was a being a little standoffish to Killian ever since Emma had told them they were dating. She thought Henry liked Killian so she hadn’t expected it to be an issue.   
She had asked Archie about the other day and Archie told her it could be any number of things, but often when a parent engaged in a new relationship the child could become resentful, seeing that person as a threat to their own relationship with the parent. He reminded Emma that Henry had gone through a lot of changes in his life in a short amount of time and that this was the first time he had to really deal with one of his parents dating. Yes Neal had dated Tamara but Henry barely knew his father at that point.   
She remembered asking about Regina, hadn’t she dated at all when Henry was growing up and Archie shook his head no.   
She knew when she first met Henry that even looking beyond the whole fairy tale thing he was getting her mixed up in that he was essentially lonely. She wondered now if perhaps that was an offshoot of his mother’s loneliness.   
A part of her was still finding the idea of Regina committing suicide as completely not possible. Of what she knew about Regina’s past it seemed like she was the type of person to carry on no matter what. Had she really shot herself in that other timeline? Maybe there was some mistake. Maybe she had been murdered and the person was really good at covering their tracks. Maybe they made it look like a suicide. With Henry being so upset, she could see where possibly she dropped the ball in investigating it. She would have been preoccupied with him and no one else in the town would have cared either way probably if she was murdered or committed suicide.   
She didn’t even own a gun.  
The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that Regina was murdered in that other timeline. But how could she prove it? And if she could, what good would it do?   
She hadn’t slept well the night before and found at 3 a.m. she was using her tablet to compile notes on Regina’s suicide like she would any other case. But she didn’t have enough details.   
“Lost in thought?” Killian asked coming to sit beside her.  
“A little.”  
“What are you thinking about?”  
“Nothing important,” she said. “Thanks for taking us out on the boat.”  
“Anytime,” he said. “I’m getting more familiar with the waters out here so pretty soon we could take a longer trip. I was thinking you and me could go away for a two or three weeks, just set sail and make some stops along the way down the coast. I’ve been reading up on some of the attractions this world has to offer and there is no one else I would rather share them with.”  
“That sounds nice, but I don’t think going away that long is very realistic. What about Henry?”  
“Your parents would watch him I am sure.”  
“What about Regina?”  
“I am certainly not inviting her on our romantic getaway,” he laughed.  
“No,” she said. “I meant you said my parents could watch Henry, why wouldn’t Regina just have him for the time away?”  
“If that is what it takes for you to go away with me then have at it.”  
She gave him a look of confusion. She wasn’t sure if she was being unclear with what she asked. “Forget the trip for a moment,” she said. “Why if I wasn’t here would you automatically think my parents would watch over Henry, why wouldn’t Regina? She is his mother.”  
He shrugged, clearly not interested in the conversation. “It’s not like you cared about that when you were planning on going back to New York. Besides the kid obviously prefers you and you are his real mother. Mister Smee was telling me that in this world about the whole court stuff and what not and you could make it legal you know.”  
“Make what legal?”  
“Your custody of Henry. You’d be his mom and you wouldn’t have to worry if Regina goes all Evil Queen mode because he wouldn’t be around her.”  
One of the sails came loose and Killian got up to fix it. Emma just sat there. Had he really just suggested what she thought he had suggested? After fixing the sail, he came back down to sit beside her.  
“Why were you asking Smee about this kind of thing anyway?”  
“You said this whole situation with Marian was stressing you out. I am trying to help here. There are plenty of people in this town who have no love for the queen and most believe Henry would be better off being as far away from her as possible. I mean I spent time with Cora, and let me tell you that is one family line that probably should end with Regina. Could you imagine if she actually had a child of her own? Look, I get it, you are in a tough spot because of Henry, and I am just throwing an option out there for you. I plan on us spending a lot of time together and I don’t want to see you stressed like you get when it comes to Regina, that is all.”  
He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Now what’s say we open up the sails a little and see what this boat can do?”  
“Yeah, sure,” she said. “I just forgot I need to make a call to my mom and I should do that before we get too far out.”  
“Ok, make your call and I will show Henry how to prepare for a little speed.”  
Killian got up and Emma took out her phone. It was a little windy and she wasn’t sure she had the bar strength but now that the thought was in her head she knew she wouldn’t be able to get it out until she got her answer. She hit Regina’s name on her call list.  
It rang three times before Regina answered.  
“Calling to check up on me so soon?” Regina said.  
“Um no, I mean yes. How is it going with her?”  
“Where are you at?” Regina asked, hearing the wind.   
“Well Hook, he took Henry and me out on the boat.”  
“Oh.”  
Silence.  
“Are you ok?” Emma asked.  
“What? Yes, fine.”  
“Where are you at?” Emma asked suddenly, hearing a weird echo with Regina’s voice.  
“I’m in the mausoleum. I need to get some books to look through if I am going to help you send your counterpart back.”  
“Please tell me you didn’t leave her alone.”  
“I did. She’s an adult; I don’t think she needs constant supervision. When I left she was up in Henry’s room playing a video game.”  
“Just don’t be gone long, ok?”  
“I hadn’t planned on it. Why are you so worried her being alone?”  
“I just don’t want her getting it in her head that she can stroll down Main Street. But forget that, that’s not why I called. I um need to ask you a question and I need you to not ask me why I am asking or anything and no I am not asking as sheriff, ok?”  
Regina had no idea where this was going so she agreed.  
“Do you own a gun?” Emma asked. “An unregistered one because I know you don’t have a registered one.”  
There was a pause and Emma knew Regina wanted to ask her why she was asking this question.  
“Since you aren’t asking as sheriff, and I am going to have to trust you are asking this for a reason that doesn’t involve you having me arrested for an illegal firearm, I will say that if I had such a weapon, I can assure you that it is no where that Henry could ever get to it, if his safety is your concern.”  
“Why do you have a gun? You have magic which for you is like a million times better than having a gun.”  
“You are forgetting that before you broke my curse we lived in a land without magic.”  
This time Emma was the one to pause. “Ok, fine, but when I come to drop Henry back off with you, I want you to give that gun to me.”  
“Why?”  
“I can’t say why, just please Regina, please give me that gun.”  
Pause.  
“I will think about it.”  
Emma knew that was the best she was going to get. “Ok, one last question. What kind of gun is it?”  
“It’s the same brand as your sheriff’s gun. The Sig Sauer M-11 Centerfire pistol.”  
“You have the same type of gun as me?”  
Another pause. “Graham procured it for me and taught me how to shoot it.”  
Emma thought not about Graham but about the type of gun itself. It was sold for commercial use so anyone could buy one, but the actual design of it by Sig Sauer was specifically meant for military and law enforcement. Her gun had been supplied to her by the Storybrooke sheriff’s office, but when she took over she had upgraded the firearms so none of the other members of the department used it. She had kept hers because she felt more comfortable with it.   
“Think about what I said please,” Emma said wanting to end this conversation. “You have your magic now, you don’t need a gun.”  
“I hope you at some point will be willing to tell me why we are having this talk,” Regina said. “But yes, I will think about it. You are right; my magic is more effective than a gun.”  
“Thanks,” she said hanging up.  
She stared at the phone in her hand. Regina had an unregistered gun, which means if she had committed suicide, she had the means to do it. She looked at Killian who was showing Henry something, although Henry didn’t seem that enthused about it. Had she let Killian convince her to contest for custody in the other timeline, she wondered.   
Had she been responsible for Regina’s suicide?  
No, she told herself. Regina would simply not do that. She was absolutely sure she knew Regina well enough to know it was not possible. And she was looking at the one reason it wasn’t possible – Henry.


	15. Chapter 15

The bell attached to the door rang as she entered Mr. Gold’s shop. She looked around – much of it looked the same as from her time although in her time there was a lot more dust.   
She discovered in the alternate timeline that not too many people came to the pawn shop anymore, most didn’t want to risk contact with its owner.  
“Hello Emma,” Belle said cheerfully. “Back again so soon.”  
Emma paused.  
“Um yeah,” Emma said figuring her younger self must have been here recently. “I hope things are well with you.”  
“Things are good,” she said.   
“Is your husband around?”  
“He’s in the back.”  
“Do you mind?”  
“No go ahead.”  
She went into the back again looking at Belle. She was so full of life, Emma thought.  
“Sheriff Swan, are you back to talk about the finer points of time travel again,” he said not looking at her at first, but then he did and smiled. “You aren’t the sheriff.”  
“Not of this time.”  
He got up and walked around her –examining her in a way that creeped her out, but she reminded herself he would get a lot creepier in the alternate future.  
“And to what do I owe the pleasure of a future Emma Swan coming to see me.”  
“I am here to finish my end of the deal we made in the future.”  
“You and I made a deal?”  
“Yes. You are the reason I am back here. I couldn’t do it on my own, so I had no choice.”  
“What is so important back here that you are willing to make a deal with me to see it through?”  
“Like I told your future self that is my business, not yours,” she said. “But we had an agreement so I am here to fulfill it.”  
“Then my all means fulfill it.”  
Emma looked back out to the main shop at Belle.  
“The deal was I would tell you something was going to happen to Belle.”  
“Belle? What happened to her?” he asked with all urgency.  
“She died.”  
“What? How? When?” he said grabbing a hold of her.  
“Telling you the details isn’t part of the deal,” she said breaking free. “Look I don’t want Belle to die either. The whole town practically came out for her funeral – everyone except you from what I understand. Her death takes you into a downward spiral of insanity. You stay holed up in this shop all the time and rarely come out. People are afraid of you. All I can tell you is what your future self told me to tell you, which is that you should have given Belle the dagger. I don’t know what it means but that is what he told me to tell you. Now I have to get going.”  
He grabbed her arm. “You can’t just leave. You can’t tell me my Belle is going to die and not tell me when or how.”  
“I completed my end of the bargain,” she said pulling away again. She got to the doorway and walked back to him. “Look, I don’t know why your future self told me to tell you that, but in that future Belle died in a fire at the library. It was ruled accidental from what I know. But that future where we made that deal, it’s not my future which is why I am back here. When Emma brought Marian forward it changed my future and put me in that other timeline. I want back to my timeline.”  
“Is Belle alive in that timeline?”   
“Yes.”  
“Then what do I have to do in order to help you restore the timeline?”  
“Nothing that I can think of at the moment. But if my present self comes asking for help in getting rid of me it would be in your best interest not to help. Don’t do anything to her because it would do it to me essentially. I can fix this. You gave me the time to fix it.”  
“How much time do you have?”  
“Enough,” she said even though she wasn’t so sure.  
…  
Regina returned home to find Emma was right where she left her – in Henry’s room playing a game. She almost shook her head at the fact present day Emma had so little trust for her future self. It made her sad to think that present Emma was so dead set against her and Regina getting together. In the short amount of time she had gotten to spend with future Emma it was clear that she was in love with her wife Regina.   
The idea that she could have such a happy future – have a daughter was enough to convince Regina that she needed to get Emma to see they could have that life. But her Emma wasn’t willing to see it. She was sure Emma was at least attracted to her physically but that wasn’t going to be enough.  
Why was it so easy for her to talk to future Emma and yet so hard to talk to her Emma?  
“Are you winning?” Regina asked as she leaned against the doorway.   
“Of course,” Emma smiled before turning back to her game.  
“Emma called me,” Regina said and then paused as Emma paused the game and turned to look at her. “She and Henry were out on the boat with Hook.”  
“What is with this fascination she has with the pirate?”   
“I don’t know. When we were in Neverland he was laying it on pretty thick with her but she didn’t seem interested then.”  
“I wasn’t and while we got along ok in the past in the Enchanted Forest I was still ignoring his advances, which he made like every two seconds. He doesn’t seem to understand the concept of not interested.”  
“There is something else. When Emma called she asked me if I had an unregistered gun. Do you have any idea why she would ask me that?”  
“Do you have an unregistered gun?”   
“Yes.”  
“Really?”  
“Yes. Did you not know this?”  
“No. In my time you have never mentioned having a gun. In fact you have made several comments to me about how pointless it is for me to carry one when my magic is a better option. Where is this gun?”  
“Locked in a gun safe in the back of my closet hidden away so Henry could never find it.”  
“Show me.”  
They went to her bedroom and Emma waited for Regina to retrieve the small gun safe and bring it out. She punched in the combination and opened the lid. Emma looked inside to see a Sig Sauer pistol. She picked it up and looked at it.   
“This is the exact same model I use.”  
“I know. As I told Emma, Graham got it for me and taught me how to use it. Do you think her asking me about it has anything to do with me dying in the future?”  
When future Emma had told her about their marriage and what had happened, she still hadn’t told her about the suicide. She didn’t even want to put that seed in Regina’s mind so Regina still believed in the alternate timeline that she had been shot and killed.  
“I don’t see how it would,” she answered.  
“What kind of gun was I shot and killed with?”  
Emma knew exactly what gun it was – she was holding it in her hand. She had read the police report on it so the details were in her head.   
“I think it was a 32 if I remember right. Something more powerful than this. Not that this is a bad gun, it’s not. I just don’t see why you would have it.”  
“Land without magic, remember? I was mayor and Graham thought it would be a good idea if I knew how to defend myself if anything happened.”  
“I get that, but why wouldn’t you tell me about it when we started dating or got married?”  
“How should I know?”  
“Think it through; what possible reason do you think you would have to not tell me?”  
Regina thought about it a moment. “I don’t know, maybe I forgot it was in there and when I remembered I got rid of it thinking there was no reason to bother you with it. You are the sheriff and it probably isn’t a good idea for your wife to be caught with an unregistered firearm. Who knows why I did it; it’s impossible to say. But Emma wants me to turn it over to her when she drops Henry off on Sunday.”  
“Why?”  
“I don’t know, she asked me to do so and even said please.”  
“I will try and find out from her when she picks me up on Sunday.”  
“Should I give it over to her? I really have no use for it.”  
“Let me think about it. But for now you said we could spend some time together when you got back. You’re back so I expect you to fulfill your end of the bargain.”  
“Do I give into you a lot in the future?”  
“It’s a constant give and take believe me.”  
“I hope so. I would hate to think you turn me into some whipped, love sick fool.”  
“Maybe a little,” Emma smiled.  
…  
Sunday rolled around and Regina found she didn’t want future Emma to leave. It had been a nice weekend. They had cooked dinner together on Saturday night and had eaten at the dinner table. Later they sat on the couch and completely ignored the TV as they talked.

“I am probably boring you with things you have heard me say before,” Regina said after a while.   
“Nah, you couldn’t bore me,” Emma said looking at her in way that made Regina want to kiss her. “Besides, it’s not like I can tell you too much about the future.”  
“Yes, I know,” Regina said. “Tell me, was it really just seeing me with Robin that set you off?”  
“Yes and no. I was always attracted to you. You practically exude sex when you walk around in those skirts. But given our history I never really thought about us as in an us. Then Neverland happened and suddenly we were working together and despite you giving me a hard time about my magic and everything else you could get a snide remark in about, I started to see that I enjoyed being around you. There is nothing simple about you and I like that. See you and I could never be boring because we constantly challenge each other and not just in the bedroom.”  
Regina was beginning to lose some of that resolve. Here was an Emma that clearly cared for her and it seemed unfair suddenly that her Emma couldn’t see that.  
“Hey, what’s with the sad face?” Emma asked inching closer.  
“Why is Emma with the pirate? If you say you started to see me differently in Neverland then why is she content to just be with him? You two seem so different that it’s hard to see you as the same person.”  
“I know, it’s difficult for me too because I know how I feel for you and I know she cares for you but she is fighting it for some reason. I know we are meant to be together and as soon as she opens her eyes a bit, she will see it too. We need to give it a little time is all,” Emma said. “I was little stubborn at first too, that is why seeing you with Robin was so important. Seeing him make you smile when I knew that I could make you smile, it was so unfair. Then when I saw him kiss you …”  
She leaned in and gave Regina a kiss – a deep kiss and Regina was kissing her back immediately. They continued to kiss and Emma brought her hand up to feel Regina’s breast through her clothes and that did it as Regina backed up.  
“We can’t.”  
“I know,” Emma said disappointed. The way she saw it this was her wife and she didn’t see a problem, but she also understood Regina’s standpoint.   
“It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just …”  
“Your Emma,” she said. “You know maybe you should just grab her and kiss her, and then tear all her clothes off. I think at that point she won’t be able to resist.”  
“I will keep that in mind,” she smiled. “I just need to find a way to get through to her – my own way.”

Now it was time for Henry to come home and future Emma to leave. There had been more kisses that morning, despite Emma’s assurance she would lay off. Kissing her felt so natural to Regina though that it was hard to resist her.   
Emma gave her one last kiss was her younger self pulled in the driveway. She then disappeared out the back as Emma walked Henry up to the door.  
Regina opened the door wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt with a V neck. It was more casual than her normal wear but Emma had told her she liked Regina in the casual look. Henry hugged Emma and went inside.  
“Can we talk?” Emma said.  
“Yes, come in.”  
They went back to the kitchen. “Where is she?”  
“Probably in your car already.”  
“Did she cause you any issues?”  
“No, not all,” Regina responded. “In fact she was actually quite … charming.”  
“I’m sorry did you just call me charming?”  
“Technically I called her charming.”  
“How was she charming?”  
“She just was. She was … it was nice being able to talk to her, to you, without conflict.”  
“We don’t have a conflict every time we talk,” Emma said feeling the need to defend herself suddenly.  
“I suppose not, but this was just … different.”  
“I’m not a bad person,” Emma said.   
“I didn’t mean to imply that you were,” Regina said. “I was merely pointing out that your future self and you aren’t exactly the same. It’s amazing to think a few short years could make much of a difference, but in this case it does. She … there is an easiness about her that I can’t quite define. She listens well and she’s rather funny.”  
“What did you two talk about exactly?”  
“A bunch of random topics. For instance I had no idea that you used to like boy bands,” she smiled.  
“Hey I grew out that phase,”  
“Still, it’s kind of cute.”  
“Can we change the subject please before I find out she told you any other teenage tidbits?”  
“Sure, what did you want to talk about?”  
“The gun, where is it?”  
“It’s upstairs locked away.”  
“Go get it.”  
“No.”  
“Why not?”  
“Because you haven’t given me a reason to turn it over to you.”  
“I am the sheriff; it’s an unregistered gun, what more reason do you need?”  
“You said you weren’t asking as sheriff.”  
“Come on Regina, just hand it over. I would feel better if you didn’t have a gun in this house.”  
“It’s been here for years and it’s of no danger to Henry. He has no idea I have it or where it is located.”  
“I don’t care. I want it out of this house. Please, for once would you just trust me that I think this is the best for you?”  
Regina considered her a moment, seeing that this clearly meant a lot to the other woman. “Let me go get it.”  
“Thank you.”  
Regina returned several minutes later and handed her the lock box. “The combination is 209967.”  
“Thank you,” Emma repeated.   
“What are you going to do with it?”  
“Lock it away at the sheriff’s office,” she said. “Now I should get going and get me and my future self home.”  
“Yes,” Regina said. “Well have a good evening.”  
“Yeah um you too. I will talk to you later.”  
Emma walked out and got into her car. Her future self was lying on the back seat so no one would see her.  
“What happened this weekend?” she asked as soon as she pulled out of the driveway.  
“What do you mean? Nothing happened this weekend.”  
“Yeah well Regina thinks you are charming so something must have happened.”  
“Charming? She actually used that word?” Emma said sitting up with a smile on her face.  
“Would you lie back down before someone sees you?” young Emma said. “And yes she said that so I want to know what happened. Are you trying to date her or something because we talked about what a horrible plan that is?”  
“She and I talked that is it. Most of what she talked about were things I had heard her say before and as for me, I couldn’t very well talk to her about the future so we talked about my past a little.”  
“That is my past too so I would appreciate if you didn’t go around telling her things like how I like boy band music.”  
Emma laughed, “You should know I told her about Jenny Sampson, not the whole sleeping with her part, but stuff like kissing her.”  
“Why would you do that?”  
“The subject just came up.”  
“I bet.”  
“Why don’t you tell me why you asked Regina for her gun?”  
“Because she has no reason for having it.”  
“I agree, but why all of a sudden do you care if she has it?”  
“Does she have it in your time?”  
“I don’t know. I didn’t know anything about it which means she either got rid of it at some point, or just never told me about it.”  
“Don’t you think this whole suicide is a little odd? What about Regina gives you any inkling that she would commit suicide?”  
“Nothing, except that is what happened.”  
“What if that isn’t what happened?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean what if she was murdered?”  
“It doesn’t matter. I fix the timeline and that never happens.”  
“But what if it does matter? I changed things by bringing Marian back here and it changed your timeline, so why do you remember your own time? Shouldn’t you have forgotten it all of it and just had memories of the time you were now in? No one else had memories, just you. Don’t you think that is odd?”  
“I don’t know. I don’t have a time traveling rule book to tell me these things.”  
“What if you remember for a reason? What if it brought you back to this time not because of your timeline but because of the other? If science fiction TV has taught us anything it’s that there can be infinite numbers of alternate timelines out there.”  
“I am only concerned about getting back to mine.”  
“Yes to a timeline where you are in love with Regina and are married to Regina, yet you don’t seem to care that there is this other timeline where she dies. A timeline you ended up in despite the infinite possibilities. You don’t think there is a reason for that? Don’t you care that she dies?”  
“Of course I do I am trying to prevent it, but I still fail to see your point. If you would open up your eyes and see what a wonderful woman she is and see that she is perfect for you then everything gets fixed.”  
“Everything in your future gets fixed, but not mine. You ended up in my future from this timeline so you keep reminding me. A timeline where Regina dies. You don’t know that if I started to date her that it prevents that. You just know it sends you back to your happy home. You tell me since you know Regina so well, would she ever commit suicide?”  
“No,” she conceded.  
“Finally, something we can agree on. It wouldn’t happen, which means we are left with the alternative.”  
“That she was murdered.”  
“You worked out a deal with Gold to send you back to where it all changed and it sent you here, you believe because this is where you need to fix things for your timeline. But what if it sent you back because something here is what leads to Regina’s murder?”  
“I am getting headache thinking about this.”  
“Welcome to my weekend,” she said. “What do you know about her supposed suicide?”  
“Everything I suppose. I read the police report.”  
“Good, when we get home you need to reproduce it.”


	16. Chapter 16

“You can’t be serious,” younger Emma said. “The police report on her suicide was only three pages long and that included the coroner’s report. That isn’t possible. Coroner’s preliminary autopsies are like three pages minimum.”  
“I thought it strange as well, but like I keep telling you the details of that timeline weren’t really what I was concentrating on. I had to beg my dad to see it and the transcripts from the custody hearing. He thought I was insane.”  
“Alright, we’re going to have to go through this step by step the best we can.”  
“Before we do, can I ask why you are all of a sudden so concerned about this.”  
“We might not agree on where you want your life to go versus where I want my life to go, but we can both agree that we don’t want that future where Regina is dead and our life sucks. I’ve been thinking about this all weekend. It simply doesn’t make sense. Every time I look at Henry, I know Regina would not do anything to purposely take herself from his life. She couldn’t do it. I have thought there was something weird about this whole you appearing here at this time from the beginning. I know you believe you are here to fix your timeline, but I am not going to discount the possibility you are here to fix my timeline.”  
They were both sitting on the couch back at the apartment facing each other. Future Emma had to admit her young counterpart made a good point about her still having her memories in tact and the idea that neither believed Regina capable of suicide. But if this Emma was right, then how did she get her own timeline fixed?  
She sighed, knowing her timeline or not she wasn’t going to stand by if someone had murdered Regina.  
“The report stated that Regina’s body was found in Henry’s room, which is on the second floor of the mansion. The door was closed when Henry found her. His statement was included and he stated he had entered the mansion called out her name but no one answered. He went looking downstairs first and found nothing. He was going to go to her room next but as he passed his he thought he smelt something. He opened the door and found her lying face down next to his bed. He knew immediately she was dead. He called the emergency dispatch center, not you.”  
“Not technically me,”  
“You know what I mean. Anyway, you arrive on scene as does dad. You have him take Henry away. The report was very simple and didn’t even include measurements of where the body was in relation to objects in the room, which is standard practice. The gun was collected for evidence, and it was later recorded as being a Sig Sauer M-11 Centerfire pistol.”  
“Just like the one Regina had.”  
“Yes, although without knowing the serial number on the gun used in the suicide…”  
“Murder.”  
“The murder, we have no way of knowing if that was the one used or not.”  
Emma was taking notes on her tablet. She had already developed a whole set of questions she was going to ask her future self regarding it, but it sounded like there was a complete lack of information in the report.  
“Did the report um say um where she was shot at?”  
“In the head. Right temple.”  
Emma paused before she typed the information in.  
“How long … did it say how long she had most likely been dead before Henry found her?”  
“Maybe a day.”   
“GSR on her hand?”   
“The report didn’t note it either way. It didn’t include any information on how many bullets were in the gun, if there was a contact point on her temple to indicate how closely she may have held it to her head and there was no mention of a toxicology report being done which is why the coroner’s findings were so short.”  
“Wait. This report, who wrote it and who signed off on it, because I am sorry, I would never have signed off on a report like that.”  
“Written by Emma Swan, so no one else needed to sign off since she is sheriff.”  
Emma got up and paced back and forth. “You didn’t find this all a little odd when you were there in that timeline?”  
“Yes, but I was more preoccupied with the idea that my wife was dead.”  
“There has to be something wrong with all of this.”  
“I agree. The report was quite lacking, but you are forgetting that this came on the heels of the custody hearing. She had just been skewered publicly by half the town. Why would anyone question if she committed suicide?”  
“I would have,” Emma said with all certainty. “I don’t care what you believe me capable of; there is no way I would have shirked off on this report. I would have investigated it. I would have asked questions and made sure that it was investigated right.”  
“I get that you feel the need to look into this and make this the reason I am here, but do you realize that there are too many answers we don’t have to even know if she was murdered and if so by whom. What do you really think you are going to accomplish with this?”  
Emma sat back down, this time just on the edge of the cushions. “I don’t know. Change things I guess but without knowing exactly what happened when she died … maybe you are right and there are too many questions with too few answers.”  
Future Emma considered her younger self a moment. She could see that Emma really believed that Regina didn’t commit suicide. Maybe she knew Regina better than she thought she did. This had been the most concern she had seen her show for Regina so she was praying there was hope yet. She just needed to keep her focused on Regina.“Maybe there is a way to get those answers.”  
“How so?”  
“I know someone in this town that has a vested interest in the future, and he might be able to help.”  
“Who?”  
“Gold.”  
…  
They had to wait until the next day to see Gold and future Emma still hadn’t explained why she thought Gold could be of help. Emma didn’t like the idea of going with future Emma, and that is when she confessed that she had already gone to see Gold when she was supposed to be Regina’s.  
“Why did you go see him?”  
“I told you, he helped me get here. I had to go fulfill my end of the bargain that got me here.”  
“Which was what?”  
“Between him and me. Don’t worry; it was just a message I had to deliver.”  
“I worry a lot more since you got here.”   
They arrived and then younger Emma went in first and the other a few moments later. By that time Emma had informed Gold that both of them needed to talk to him. They gave him the watered down version of what they were looking into.  
“And why should I care if Regina passes away in the future – suicide or murdered?” he said.  
“Because what we are trying to do is fix a future,” older Emma said.  
“Whose future hers or yours?”  
“Both and perhaps yours as well.”  
He considered it for more than a few moments. “I can’t send one of you to the future.”  
“We figured,” younger Emma said. “But is there anyway to get answers about something that could happen in the future? We’re looking for anything here.”  
Gold again thought it through. “There may be a way.” He walked into the back of the shop and came back with a book. “Have you heard of astral projection?”  
“Are you serious?”  
“You did say anything. It’s also not quite what astral projection pretends to be in this world.”  
“How does it work?”  
“Simple enough. You take a potion, your consciousness will move into the future since you body can’t. From there you can observe and perhaps get your answers.”  
“What’s the catch?” future Emma asked knowing there had to be one.  
“The catch is your consciousness can’t just be floating around. It needs an anchor. It will naturally anchor in your future body. But once there, you won’t be able to control your future self. You will be like a shadow in the back of their mind. You will be able to hear, see, feel through their body but you won’t be in control of it. They will. You will just be along for the ride.”  
“Is there a danger of not coming back?”  
“Shouldn’t be. As soon as the potion wears off you will wake.”  
“Sounds a little too easy,” future Emma said.  
“Magic is never easy. I think you are underestimating what it will be like to hitchhike in another mind. Let’s say for instance you are there in the mind and that person gets in a car wreck, has a heart attack or gets shot. You are going to experience it but be unable to do anything. You are trapped there until you wake. So which one of you is going to do it?”  
“I am,” they both said at the same time.  
“I will start making the potion while you two argue it out,” he said.   
“I am doing it,” younger Emma said first.  
“Coming to Gold was my idea.”  
“And looking into Regina’s death was my idea. No argument. I am doing this. You already got a look at the future, it’s my turn.”  
…

“So this is it,” Emma said the potion in her hand.  
“If you want to change your mind …” her future self said.  
“No, I want to do it,” she said. “Are you prepared to be me for the next 12 hours?”  
Gold had explained the potion would only last that long so she would be asleep the entire time. She figured 12 hours was more than enough time to see firsthand the initial investigation.  
“I think I can handle being Emma Swan,” she said. “You just be careful and be observant as much as you can be. We only get one shot at this.”  
Emma had changed into some comfortable clothes when they first got back to the apartment. She laid down on the bed now, looked one more time at her future self and drank the potion.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: For this chapter everything is from the alternate future Emma’s perspective. The present day Emma is there in her mind observing it all, having access to everything the other Emma sees, feels and thinks.

Emma pulled up to the mansion. She tried to keep her hand from shaking as she opened the door. She already knew what to expect – Regina was dead, shot to death.  
She forced her emotions down and exited the car, walking up to the house like she had done so many times before. As soon as she walked in she saw her father kneeling down in front of Henry who was sitting on the steps. He had discovered the body, something the dispatchers had told her.  
“Henry, I …”  
Henry’s look at her stopped her from saying anything else.   
“Um dad, why don’t you take Henry to your place, you can get his statement there.”  
“I’m not leaving,” Henry said standing up.  
“Yes you are,” she said. “This is a crime scene and I have an investigation to get started on.”  
She started to walk past him up the stairs.  
“Make sure you take a long look at her,” Henry said. “This is what you wanted after all.”  
Emma didn’t turn to look at him, just paused a moment and continued up the stairs. She trusted that her dad would get him out of there. She got to the top and stopped looking not at Henry’s room at first, but instead toward the end of the hall where Regina’s room was. She shook off the chill she suddenly felt and entered Henry’s room.   
She almost turned right back around at the sight of Regina’s body lying there. Instead she moved further into the room walking around the body. She could tell by how the blood was dried and caked she had been dead for a while.  
The gun lay nearby and she didn’t notice any splatter pattern on the other side of the wound, which meant the bullet hadn’t exited the skull. It wasn’t unusual for a bullet to remain lodged inside a skull and it would need to be removed to compare to the gun. She put on her rubber gloves so as to not disturb the evidence. She pulled out her phone and took several pictures of the scene. Once that was done she bent down and examined the gun – recognizing it immediately as the same type she carried.  
She took a close up picture of it and its relation to the body and then picked it up carefully. There were scratches on the side of it where someone had removed the serial number leaving her no way to trace whose gun it was. She put it back down and stood back up looking around. The gun was near Regina’s hand which meant she could have dropped it after shooting herself. Still, it seemed relatively clear from anything. When a person gets shot in the head they merely drop where they stand if death happens instantly. She had fallen forward based on how the body lay yet the gun hadn’t fallen in a way where she or any part of her body had fallen on it. It was possible, Emma thought.  
She bent down again to look at the wound itself. There was a lot of blood of course but she was seeing some black gunpowder stains that come with close contact shootings.  
Emma backed away and took in the scene as a whole. She moved around the body taking more pictures and trying to figure out why Regina had come in here. There was nothing disturbed that she could tell, but then again she didn’t have a complete inventory of Henry’s room to know the difference. The room was clean as she imagined it had been since the last time Henry was in it.  
There was a knock on the door and she turned to see the guys from the morgue there.   
“Can we take her yet?”  
“Give me a few more moments,” she said.  
“Ok, we will be downstairs, just let us know.”  
She looked around the room some more, bagging the gun up as evidence.   
No note. Statistically speaking women tended to leave notes when they commit suicide. She stood there looking still at Regina’s body. Her body. She was dead. Even standing there Emma had a hard time reconciling the idea that the fiery brunette could actually be dead. She half expected there to be a puff of magic and Regina would be standing there demanding to know what she was doing there.  
Finally, she walked out and called down to the guys to collect the body. She moved out of the way so they could do their work and she walked over to Regina’s room.   
The bedroom was immaculate as Regina liked things to be. The woman could be downright OCD Emma thought. She walked to the foot of the bed and thought about the one night she had spent in it.

Emma was nervous as she rang the doorbell to the mansion. It had been a few days since she had returned Marian to this time and she hadn’t seen nor spoken to Regina since that night at Granny’s. She felt guilty, not for saving Marian, but for its affect on Regina.   
She was surprised that Regina actually opened the door.  
“What is it Miss Swan, have you brought some other poor soul back from the past to help ruin my life?”  
“Can I come in?”  
“No.”  
“Regina,” she sighed. “Please, I just want to talk.”  
“Fine, make it quick,” Regina said moving out of the way. Emma entered and Regina led her into the main room.   
“I’m sorry. I know you don’t think I am, but I really am. I never knew who Marian was.”  
“Would it have made a difference if you had?”  
Emma looked away.  
“Of course it wouldn’t have,” Regina said. “You are the Savior all you do is save people, especially from the Evil Queen.”  
“I don’t see you like that,” Emma said quickly.   
“What do you want?” Regina asked crossing her arms. “Why are you here?”  
“I just wanted to make sure you were ok,” Emma said. “And I … look before this thing with Marian, we, you and I were actually getting along. We were working together and you discovered you had light magic and well I thought things were going good.”  
“If your concern is that I am going to go on some murderous rampage through the countryside you can be at ease sheriff, I have no such plans.”  
“That’s not what I … why do you have to be so difficult all the time? I was trying to be nice.”  
“Nice. You break up the one relationship I’ve felt good about since Daniel died and you want me to what exactly, be friends with you?”  
“I don’t know. I don’t see why we have to be at each other’s throats all the time.”  
“Because that is apparently the way life wants it to be.”  
“Bullshit. This whole Savior and Evil Queen stuff is a bunch of bullshit. They are just roles and we don’t have to play them.”  
“Says the woman who is clearly on the better side of it.”  
“You think I like people having these high expectations of me because I am Snow White and Prince Charming’s daughter? Why do you think I wanted to go back to New York? Why I didn’t want to be here?”  
“Because you wanted to take Henry from me.”  
“No. It had nothing to do with you and everything to do with not wanting to be part of this fairy tale. I just want to be Emma. Not Emma the Savior. I want to make my own choices. I want to be free.”  
They had slowly been advancing on each other and as soon as she said it Regina was kissing her. She was so shocked that she didn’t kiss back immediately but once she did, she wrapped her arms around Regina, pulling her in close.   
They ended upstairs in this very bed.

“Sheriff, sheriff?”  
Emma turned to see one of the morgue guys was in the doorway. “We’re done and will be heading out.”  
“Ok. Tell the coroner I will be there a little later.”  
“Will do.”  
Emma looked again at the bed. How had things gone so badly so quickly? How had they gone from making love to her standing over Regina’s dead body in there?  
She went back into Henry’s room, and saw the blood on the carpet. She felt the weight of Regina’s death hit her suddenly and she turned away from the blood, walking over to the window, staying there until she felt it pass.   
She walked through the rest of the house feeling the emptiness of it and wondering if that is how it felt to Regina after Henry was gone. She went down to Regina’s home office and over to the desk. Everything was clean here as well. She opened up the top drawer and found an envelope with her name on it. She pulled it out and saw it appeared to be a hand-written letter. 

Emma,  
When my beloved Daniel was murdered I used to spend days in isolation thinking of the what ifs. What if he had lived? What if he and I had gotten our happy ending? I became obsessed with the idea of a life I would never lead.   
The story of my life should be a lesson in what not to do.   
Maybe it was nothing less than I deserved for the harm I have caused others. Maybe it was another of life’s reminders that I don’t get a happy ending.   
You took away my only chance at happiness when you took Henry away from me. And what hurts the most is that you knew what you were doing.   
I sit here and I keep wondering why. The night we spent together meant more to me than you could ever imagine. I had always found you to be attractive, and yes sexy, but the idea that you shared the same dream I had – the dream of a life of freedom – was a complete surprise. That is why I kissed you. I thought here is someone who understands what it is like to have people define them, unable to make your own choices.  
You said to me that night that the Savior and the Evil Queen were roles but we didn’t have to play them and for a brief time I believed that. I believed it until you forced me to play that role in court in front of the entire town, in front my son.  
Now that I am left with nothing I find myself here again thinking about the what ifs. What if you hadn’t left that morning like you did? What if you had just talked to me? What if you had accepted that it wasn’t a one-night stand? What if you had kissed me first?   
I need to tell you that…

The letter just stopped in midsentence. Even though it didn’t fill the whole paper she flipped it over to look for more and checked the drawers again. Why would Regina not finish the letter? Was this supposed to be her suicide note?  
She bit her lip as she thought about it. Regina wouldn’t leave an incomplete letter behind as her final words. It went against everything Emma knew of her.   
She put the letter back in the envelope and folded it up, sticking it in her back pocket. She needed to make sure no one else ever saw that letter.  
Emma began to pace behind the desk, feeling like the walls were closing in on her.   
She needed to get out of there. She needed to go check on Henry.   
She drove to her parents’ house.   
“Where is he?” she asked when she got inside.  
“In the guest room,” Snow said. “Maybe you should let him be alone for right now. He is pretty shook up.”  
“Which is why I should go talk to him.”  
She knocked on the bedroom door before entering. Henry was sitting on the bed staring at a framed picture in his hands. He didn’t even acknowledge her as she came in and shut the door behind her.   
She took a seat next to him and he moved over. She saw the picture was of him and Regina when he was just a little kid.  
“Henry I’m so sorry,” she said.   
“No you aren’t,” he said. “You took me from her. You took me from her and you didn’t even care. You let all those people say that stuff about her when it wasn’t true. That wasn’t who my mother was. That was the Evil Queen, that wasn’t my mother. Now my mother is dead. I don’t have a mom anymore because you sure aren’t someone I will ever call mom again.”  
“You’re angry, I get it. But being angry at me isn’t going to help this at all. Regina … she … I never wanted this.”  
“Then why did you do this? I heard her that day at courthouse. She said she would die if you took me from her. She told you that and you still did it. You might as well have shot her yourself.”  
Emma stood up knowing she wasn’t going to get anywhere with him. “We’ll talk later,” she said leaving the room.  
She went out to the kitchen where her parents were sitting and she took a seat as well.  
“He hates me,” she said.  
“He’s upset,” Charming said. “He saw her body; it’s going to take a while for him to process all of this.”  
“Did she really shoot herself?” Snow asked.  
“It looks like it,” Emma said.   
“But we won’t know for sure until we get the coroner’s report,” Charming added.  
“I can’t believe it,” Snow said. “I can’t believe Regina would do this. She has always been so strong.”  
Yeah, Emma thought, strong up until the point I put her on trial for being a bad person. She couldn’t prove she was a bad mother, so she simply proved she was a bad person.  
“I have to check in with the coroner,” Emma said. “Do you mind keeping Henry here?”  
“Not at all,” Snow said.  
“Do you want me to come with you?” Charming asked.  
“No, I would feel better if you stayed here with Henry. I got this handled.”  
She left and as she was starting her car, her phone rang – it was Killian. She didn’t want to deal with him right now so ignored it. She drove to the morgue and entered to find him standing next to the table where Regina’s body was laid out. Since it was a small town, the coroner was only an on-call office. Dr. Randles was actually a private practice physician and the morgue was in a room in back of funeral home. They didn’t have many occasions for full autopsies in this town.   
She didn’t want to see Regina’s body again so she stayed back a bit.   
“Have you recovered the bullet?”  
“Yep,” he said holding out a tray with the impacted bullet. He hadn’t even washed the blood off of it yet but did so now. She pulled an evidence bag out of her pocket and she had to step closer to the body in order for him to place it inside. She tried to keep her eyes off of Regina, but found she was drawn to looking at her.   
“Anything of note yet?”   
“Just got started,” he said. “I will email over my preliminary results.”  
“Thanks,” she said taking one last look before leaving. There was no reason for her to stick around and she had no desire to be there. She went back to the office and logged in the gun and bullet as evidence and downloaded the pictures from her phone onto her computer and began to go through them and type up her initial report.  
She heard someone enter the station and looked up to see Killian approaching. “I tried calling you,” he said taking a seat next to her desk.  
“I know, but I am busy.”  
“With Regina’s suicide; it’s all anyone is talking about around town, how the Evil Queen took a bullet to the side of the head.”  
“Don’t call her that, especially anywhere Henry might here you.”  
“Yeah, well he will come to see in time that he was better off with you as his mother.”  
“He doesn’t feel that way right now and honestly I am not sure when he will. He is angry at me, angry for taking him away from Regina and you know what he has every right to be. I shouldn’t have …”  
“Hey you did what was best for the kid,” he said putting a comforting hand on hers. “As long as she was in his life there was bound to be trouble.”  
She pulled her hand away. “No,” she said. “I knew taking him away would devastate her and it did.”  
“This isn’t your fault.”  
“Then why does it feel like it is? I should never have challenged her for custody. I was just … angry. My parents tried to tell me not to do it. Hell, they wouldn’t even testify against Regina. What does it say when your own parents don’t support you?”  
“You did the right thing,” he repeated. “You did what you had to do in order to have Henry be safe. You heard the things people testified about, the things she had done. Is that really someone you want around your son? No. Look, this will all blow over. The winds always change, they always do, and once they do Henry will come around and maybe we can start building a life – together.”  
“Killian, I told you I’m not ready for anything serious and right now I can’t even think about such things.”  
“I know what you said, but think about it please. There is nothing left to keep us apart.”  
He stood up and kissed her on the check before leaving.  
After he was gone she finished labeling all the photos she took and then she went to look at the gun. They didn’t have a crime lab, but she had the materials there to take measurements of the bullet to determine what kind it was. She photographed it and took the measurements, but like the gun she knew what kind of bullet it was – it definitely fit the gun as it was the same type of bullet she used. She pulled out her gun and popped out an in tact bullet sitting it down beside the other. It was the same.   
The same gun and bullet as hers. Did Regina do this on purpose? Had she gotten a gun that was the exact model as hers and gotten the exact bullet? Was it her way of showing Emma that she blamed her?  
She turned her attention to the gun, dusting it for fingerprints. There were fingerprints on it and they appeared to be small like a woman’s. She would have to compare them to Regina’s. But the odd part was while there were fingerprints on the grip there wasn’t any on the trigger.   
She went back to her desk and scanned in the fingerprints. She did happen to have Regina’s on file as she did all city employees. She ran the comparison program and got up to get some coffee while it worked. She was taking her first sips when the program indicated it was done – a match for one Regina Mills.  
She still had questions but couldn’t do anything until she saw the coroner’s report.   
Emma said back in her chair and thought about that night at the hospital when she had confronted Regina after her car wreck where Henry was injured. She had pulled Regina into an empty room to speak to her.

“What happened?”  
“A deer ran out in front of us, I swerved to avoid it and hit the tree.”  
“What were you doing out on that stretch of road that late at night?”  
“Not that it is any of your business, but Henry had been with Robin who has been teaching him about the forest. I went and picked him up.”  
“Teaching him about the forest? Is there anything else I should know about what my son is doing?” she asked putting emphasis on the “my son.”  
“It was an accident,” Regina stressed.  
“Yeah well forgive me if I feel safer if Henry went home when he is released.”  
“He is going to be fine; there is no reason for him to go home with you. This is my weekend with him.”  
“He is going home with me. He is clearly safer with me.”  
“Miss Swan need I remind you that I am Henry’s legal guardian, not you. We have been sharing time with him because that is what is best for him, and I won’t have you questioning my right to be with him.”  
“You are a real piece of work,” Emma said.  
“Don’t make this about Henry. You are upset with me, so why don’t you just say whatever it is that you want to say to me.”  
“The time for talking is well over,” Emma said.  
“Only because you refused to talk to me when it would have made a difference. Instead I get weeks of the cold shoulder from you and the moment that pirate upsets you with some notion that you two should be together forever, you show up at my door wanting in my bed. Did you really think I was going to say sure after you walked out on me that morning? After you told me that I should pretend it never happened? Damn it Emma was the idea that we could be together so distasteful to you?”  
“This isn’t about what happened between us. It was a one-night stand. You were the one who tried to make it into more than that. This is about what is best for Henry and right now I think it might be best if he stayed with me for a while.”  
“You aren’t taking my son away from me.”  
“We will see about that,” she said leaving the room.

That is how it had all started. She had filed the papers the next day to contest the custody and it was a fight Regina never stood a chance in.   
The thing was it was never about Henry, not really. Emma was just angry at Regina. Angry that when she was ready to end things with Killian and see if maybe Regina and her could have a future together, Regina had rejected her.   
It had all gotten out of control too quickly for Emma to stop it once the custody hearing got underway. She had honestly felt bad for Regina having to sit there and listen to witness after witness rehash the past. She should have stood up and told the judge to stop it. She should have withdrawn her petition, but she hadn’t. Instead she got angrier and angrier at Regina as she sat there with her head held high refusing to even look at her. If Regina had just asked her to stop it – but she knew that was ridiculous. She shouldn’t have expected something like that. She shouldn’t have wished that Regina would come to her and say all was forgiven and given Emma a second chance.  
She shook her head, clearing it of things better left alone.   
She continued to work until she saw the email message from Dr. Randles pop up. She clicked on it and downloaded the attachment. She began to read the report, skimming it at first to get to the cause of death. He had listed it as undetermined.  
“What the hell?” she said and she read the report again more fully before picking up the phone and calling him.  
“What do you mean it’s undetermined? It has to be suicide or homicide.”  
“I don’t feel comfortable making that decision,” he said simply. “I leave it to you to make the final determination for your investigation.”  
“Come on doc,” she said. “You got to give me something. I mean you say right here that it appears the gun was held one to three inches from her head. That usually indicates suicide, right?”  
“It can.”  
“And the GSR, it was negative on her hand. That may mean she didn’t fire the gun.”  
“I can only tell you what I observed,” he said. “I don’t feel comfortable with interpreting the evidence as one or the other. Perhaps you should make the determination you feel most comfortable with. I leave it in your hands.”  
“What is this bit about the time of death?”  
“She was shot anywhere between 24 and say 32 hours before she was found. She didn’t die immediately.”  
“She was shot in the head.”  
“Yes, and many people have been shot in the head and survived. I would say the bullet incapacitated her but didn’t kill her immediately. She probably died an hour to three or four hours after being shot.”  
“You mean she just laid there and died. Would she have been conscious? Would she have known what was happening?”  
“She could have but there really is no way of knowing.”  
“Damn it,” she cursed after he hung up. How was she supposed to do this? How was she supposed to say which it was?  
What had she done? As much as she wanted to believe this wasn’t about her, she knew she was the reason Regina was dead in the morgue. She reached into her bottom drawer and into the back where she had put a small bottle of whiskey. She poured some into her now cold coffee and drank it down. She pulled out the letter from Regina and reread it and then read it again. What was Regina going to say to her and why hadn’t she finished writing it? There had to be more.  
She grabbed her jacket and left.  
She pulled into Regina’s driveway a few minutes later and let herself in. She went to the office and began to search for more of the letter. After not finding anything she went up to the bedroom. She began looking through the bedroom – going through the bedside table, even looking under the mattress and under the bed. Next she went through the closet. At the very back of the closet where she almost completely overlooked it, she found a metal box. She brought it out and placed it on the bed. It was definitely a lockbox for a gun. She had seen them before. Did this mean that Regina had in fact owned a gun?  
She picked it up again and it felt like there was a gun inside still based on the weight. But it was locked and without the combination she wasn’t sure how she would get it open.   
Emma took the box with her and exited the room. She stopped outside of Henry’s room. It was dark by this time at night and she could only see a little bit with the lights off. She thought about how Regina’s body had looked lying there.   
“My fault,” she said softly.  
She took the lockbox with her back to the station. She would figure out someway to get it opened later. She took a seat back at her desk and took another drink of whiskey, not bothering with the coffee this time before hiding the bottle back in her desk. Ruby had gotten it for her as a joke one night and she kept meaning to take it out of the office, but it had continued to sit there. Then the night she and Regina had gotten into it she had come back here and taken a drink from it.

Emma knocked on the door, knowing Regina was home. She had left Henry back at her place, telling him she needed to go into the office for a bit. The truth was, she needed to see Regina.   
When the brunette opened the door Emma felt the wind rush out of her lungs. She had always thought Regina was beautiful, but now that she knew what she looked like under those clothes the word beautiful had taken on a deeper meaning for her.  
She smiled at Regina, “Can I come in?”  
Regina didn’t say anything just moved out of her way. As soon as the door closed, Emma forced her up against it, kissing her. They kissed like that until Regina forced her back.  
“Miss Swan,” Regina warned.  
“What? It’s not like you didn’t like it,” Emma said.  
“That is not the point,” Regina said. “You’ve practically ignored me for weeks and now you show up at my door when you are supposed to be watching our son.”  
“Can we please not fight?” Emma pouted. She moved forward and kissed her again, feeling Regina’s resolve begin to slip as the kisses heated up, but again Regina stopped them.  
“I don’t want to fight with you,” Regina said. “But can you at least tell me why you are here, why now? You told me to forget about what happened that night.”  
Emma groaned, “I know, I know, can’t we talk about it later? Right now I really want to take you upstairs to bed. I can’t stay long because I have Henry at home.”  
Regina took a step back. “Did you come here just to have sex?”  
“No, well maybe. Come on Regina, don’t act like you don’t want this.”  
“I do want this, but I want more than to be some one you hop into bed with when you get the urge.”  
“That’s not what this is about. Look things have gotten a little complicated is all. Killian is talking about wanting a relationship with me and I don’t want that. I thought maybe you and I could you know pick up where we left off that night.”  
“With the intention of doing what?”  
“I just want things to be simple,” Emma said. “What’s wrong with us just being together without having to call it something or defining it?”  
“Are you still seeing the pirate?”  
“Yes, but he wants to move things along faster than I want. He is talking about like our future is already pre-ordained. I just need some time to straighten all of that out.”  
“And in the mean time you can come here and see me,”  
“Exactly,” Emma said smiling. “See you understand.”  
“Get out.”  
“What?”  
“I said leave Miss Swan. I am not going to be your fuck buddy. I thought you understood that you and I we have a connection. I thought … never mind, it doesn’t matter. You clearly don’t see things the way I do. I need you to leave.”  
“No,” Emma said coming closer. “Regina. I am not talking about us being fuck buddies. All I am saying is there is a mutual attraction here and there is no reason why shouldn’t explore it. We can see where this goes, but I can’t until I deal with this other stuff.”  
”Then perhaps you should deal with it first.”  
Emma looked at her knowing any chance she had that night was lost. She exhaled, feeling the residual anger she had felt toward Killian earlier when he was talking about how they could take a two-month cruise down the coast.   
“Fine,” she said walking out and slamming the door behind her.

They had one more fight after that and before the crash when Henry got hurt. She couldn’t understand why Regina didn’t see that it wasn’t just about the sex. Yes, she wanted to have sex with her, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t open to more. She was only trying to say the more would have to wait. But Regina wouldn’t listen and now …  
She buried her head in her hands trying to keep the emotions from coming through.  
“Damn it Regina, why did you do this?”  
She was still at her desk a couple of hours later when her father came in.   
“Hey, thought I would check on you. I tried calling but you didn’t answer,”  
She checked her phone. It was dead. Even as she thought it, she thought of Regina being dead on the floor.  
“It needs charged,” she said.  
“Why don’t you go home and charge it and get some rest?”  
“I should finish my report.”  
“Did you get the coroner’s report?”  
“Yes,”  
“And?”  
“And Dr. Randles didn’t feel comfortable giving a ruling and has left it up to me.”  
”What? Why wouldn’t he?”  
“I don’t know. The evidence he collected could go either way.”  
“And what do you think?”  
She paused, knowing it fell on her shoulders now. Regina’s death fell on her shoulders. She didn’t pull the trigger, but she might as well have.  
“Suicide.”  
“Are you sure? Because if you aren’t sure, I can help you go through the evidence again.”  
“No, it’s ok. Her fingerprints were the only ones on the gun. Coroner’s report states the gun was no more than three inches from her head at the time of the shooting. Clearly she had been upset over recent events and … I’m just going to finish my report, it’s not long and then I will head home. I will um pick Henry up in the morning.”  
“Ok,” he said. “Call me if you need anything.”  
”I will.”   
He left and she typed up her report. It was only a half a page. She would attach the coroner’s report and Henry’s statement to it later. She picked up the lockbox and her whiskey and she went home. She sat on her couch for the longest time, drinking and staring at that box, wondering about the gun she was now sure was inside. Why would Regina have a gun? Why would the woman who could use magic so adeptly need a gun?  
Finally, she dragged herself to her room and fell on the bed, letting the world spin around her as she closed her eyes and slept.

Emma woke, sitting up in bed.  
“Are you ok?”  
She turned to see her future counterpart there at the bedside. It took her a moment to get her bearings and she rushed out of bed to the bathroom where she puked up the little residue that was in her stomach. She felt disoriented, like there was something not quite real about all of this – the thoughts and feelings of that alternate timeline Emma were still sticking to her like chocolate on a strawberry.   
“Are you ok?” future Emma asked again.  
“Yeah,” she said taking a seat on the bathroom floor. “Was I gone for the full 12 hours?”  
“Yes. Was it enough? Did you find out what happened?”  
“Regina was murdered.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter starts out in the 12 hour time gap while present Emma is asleep. Then moves back to the regular time from where the last chapter let off.

Future Emma watched as her younger self fell asleep under the power of the potion. She could admit she was a little worried about the outcome, but Emma needed to see how important Regina was to her.  
She had taken the potion around 10:30 p.m. in order keep most of her time in a normal sleep schedule. Of course future Emma knew that was also done in order to keep her future self from being out and about during the day as her.   
Her younger self thought she was clever, and she couldn’t help but try and remember if she was that way just few short years ago. She knew she had been, and she knew she had made mistakes because of it.   
Pulling out her phone she called Regina.  
“Hello Emma.”  
“I am really glad you didn’t say Miss Swan there.”  
“Do I ever call you Miss Swan in the future?”  
“Only when you are really, really mad at me, which I assure you is not that often.”  
“Forgive me if I am not sure I quite believe you.”  
“Well, I tell you what I happen to have the opportunity and freedom right now to come over if you don’t mind a late night visitor.”  
There was a pause and Emma sent up a prayer that the answer would be yes.  
“Wait until close to midnight, I want to make sure Henry is asleep and doesn’t know you are here.”  
“See you then.”  
Emma hung up the phone and did a little dancing twirl in celebration. She had hours before her younger self woke and she planned on spending as many of those as possible with Regina.   
…  
She sent Regina a text when she was at the back door. When Regina opened the door Emma swept in and kissed her. She knew Regina’s rule, and knew she was likely in for some sort of lecture, but she didn’t care. She wanted her wife.  
Regina kissed her back before pulling away. “Miss Swan.”  
“Sorry,” she smiled, even though she was anything but sorry. “You have no idea how utterly irresistible you are do you?”  
“You make me sound like a drug,” Regina said trying to maintain some composure even if she was flattered by the comment.   
”You are my drug,”   
“Shut the door will you,” Regina walking away.   
They exited the kitchen and Regina led her to the study and immediately put up a spell to keep sound from leaving the room she explained to Emma.  
“You did that on our honeymoon and I am pretty sure the neighbors could still hear us,” Emma said.  
It took Regina a moment to say anything, “I don’t know about that but I do know I don’t want Henry wandering down here and hearing us talking in here. Now where is Emma, my Emma? I doubt she would just let you causally come here.”  
“She is working the over night shift at the station tonight, so here I am.”  
“And you aren’t worried she will pop back home and check on you?”  
“Nah, plus I am willing to risk it in order to see you.”  
Regina was sure she was blushing again, or maybe she was still blushing from the kiss. She couldn’t help but marvel at the ease with which this Emma spoke to and flirted with her. It was like night and day to the present Emma. She could see falling for this charming version of the blonde-haired sheriff but knew she couldn’t. Still, she could admit it was tempting.  
She was also worried about what happened if she couldn’t get her Emma to see that they could have a relationship.  
“Where did you go?” Emma asked stepping closer to her.  
“Huh? Um, no where, I was just thinking.”  
“About me?”   
“Maybe,” Regina conceded.  
“I think you were,” Emma said moving even closer so that they were inches apart. She snaked her arm around Regina and pulled their bodies together. “I think you think about me all the time.”  
Again they were kissing and as much as Regina felt like she should fight the urge she kept kissing her back.  
“Wait,” Regina said escaping from her arms. “We talked about this.”  
“I know, but you can’t expect me to look at you and not want this. You and I were destined for each other. I believe that.”  
“I’d like to believe that,” Regina sighed taking a seat on the settee. “I would like to believe that the Emma of this time could be like you and that we could have a marriage and have that little girl Alexandra, but I have to say that I don’t see it happening. Emma and I, we don’t … it’s not the same. She doesn’t look at me like you do.”  
“I know,” Emma conceded. “It’s not like I haven’t thought about that. I have and I’ve actually thought of a solution.”  
“What’s that?”  
Emma smiled and knelt down in front of her, putting her hands on Regina’s knees. “Keep an open mind and at least consider it. If we can’t get this Emma moving in the right direction, then I say fuck it. Let’s find a magical way to keep me here. Keep me in this timeline and then you and I can have the life we were meant to have. No, don’t answer, don’t comment, just think about it. You and me together, every day. We could kiss and hug and no one could stop us. Are there complications? Yes there are, but we can figure it out as long as we are together.”  
Regina looked down at Emma and saw in her eyes that she did indeed want this. She wanted to be with Regina more than anything. It struck her again how this Emma was so different than the Emma of this time.  
“Um, I still think we should um try, you know with me and my Emma, but um… yes, if that isn’t going to work I will find a way to keep you here.”  
“Fantastic,” Emma said moving up and kissing her. 

….

 

Emma chowed down on the food that future Emma had waiting for her when she woke. She was starving after having laid there for 12 hours in bed. The cheeseburger had little taste for her however.  
“What happened? What did you see?” future Emma asked her.  
“Everything,” Emma said between bites. “Everything she saw, I saw. It was like Gold said I could see it, feel it but I couldn’t do anything about it.”  
“Ok, well tell me what you saw, you said Regina was murdered. How do you know that?”  
“The evidence,” she said taking another bite.  
“Can you stop eating or chew faster?” future Emma, who was now pacing next to the table, asked.  
“Forgive me if my empty stomach is an inconvenience to you. Why don’t you tell me what has happened here in the past 12 hours while I eat?”  
Future Emma sat down in a huff. “Nothing happened. It’s been 12 hours of pretty much nothing. I answered a domestic call with dad at like 5 a.m. but that is about it. And no, he didn’t look at me strange or think I was anyone but you.”  
“What about Regina, have you heard from her in the past 12 hours?”  
“No, and neither have you,” she said, sliding Emma’s phone across the table to her. “The last 12 hours have been about as quiet as they have ever been in this town.”  
Emma finished the last of her cheeseburger and while she was still hungry she didn’t want to eat the fries after getting no satisfaction from the burger. She pushed the plate away from her.  
She gave her counterpart the quick rundown on what had happened. Her future self sat there and listened, asking only a couple of questions.   
“You slept with Regina in that time line?”   
“I apparently did, and then turned around and was a complete ass about it.”  
“It sounds like it,”  
“I am beginning to wonder if there is a time line besides this one where I haven’t slept with Regina,” Emma said laying her head in her hands.  
“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing.”  
“And you make it sound like it’s the only thing,” she shot back.  
“I don’t want to fight with you about this – again,” future Emma said. “Perhaps we can get back to concentrating on the issue at hand and tell me more about what you experienced.”  
“Here is the problem with this astral projection stuff, while I was in her mind, I didn’t have access to her memories or anything like that. The only reason I knew she slept with Regina was because she was actively thinking about it,” younger Emma explained. “If she hadn’t have been thinking about it then I wouldn’t have known. Maybe if I had access to the rest of it, I might have been able to know more, know what she was really thinking when she decided to take Henry away from Regina. Know … other things.”  
She paused considering a few things before speaking again. “When she saw Regina on the floor she tried to keep it all together in her mind – you know look at it all like you would look at it if you didn’t know her, as if it was a stranger there on the floor. Then it started to unravel. It was weird. I was only in her mind for those 12 hours yet if I hadn’t known I was in the mind of just her I could almost swear it was a different person by the end.”  
“Why do you say that?”  
“It’s hard to explain. I just think she lost it. I am no psychologist, but I think she started going crazy almost immediately, and I think I know where her drinking problem started as she was drinking in the sheriff’s station that night.”  
Future Emma began to pace again. “You said you thought you might have covered it up – the murder I mean, if you did, who were you protecting?”  
“Be careful with your pronouns. I had nothing to do with this. I don’t know that she was actively protecting anyone. She feels totally responsible for Regina being dead, whether from murder or suicide, she feels it is her fault.”  
“Maybe it was. Maybe the realization that she treated Regina like complete shit was the problem.  
Emma considered her future counterpart a moment before speaking. “This version of us that I was in, she kept that report simple for a reason, and I think that reason was because she didn’t want anyone delving into deeply as to what Regina had been doing – mainly her. Regina was dead and she was still afraid people would find out she had sex with her. Now I have my faults and I am ready to admit that, but if I had sex with Regina I am not going to be a coward and hide it.”  
She stared down her future counterpart. She had just about enough of all of this. Her future self broke off the look first.  
“Well we still need to figure out what happened to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”  
“Yes we do,” young Emma said.

…  
It was late that night – nearly midnight when Regina’s phone beeped. She had had breakfast with future Emma that morning – after she dropped Henry off at school. Emma came back over and Regina had cooked her breakfast.   
She hadn’t said how she managed to get out from under her younger self’s watch in order to have breakfast. When her phone beeped she expected it to be her which is why she looked at strangely when she saw who it was. She got out of bed and put on a robe, quietly going downstairs. She opened the back door.  
Emma, the younger one, came in the moment the door is open. “We need to talk.”  
“And you couldn’t have picked a daylight hour to do that?”  
“Cut me some slack,” Emma said. “You got anything to drink?”  
“Why do I suspect you aren’t asking for milk?” Regina said as she saw the look Emma gave her. “This way.”  
She led her back to the study and poured them both a drink – whiskey. Not normally Regina’s style but she felt like this wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation. Emma drank down half of her glass immediately.  
“I need to ask you something – something personal.”  
Regina was immediately put on edge and took a bigger drink of her whiskey.  
“Do you have any desire to have sex with me?”  
Regina drank down the rest of her glass and went back to refill her glass. Emma, whom she hadn’t even see move, was suddenly there beside her grabbing her wrist.  
“Do you have any desire to have sex with me?”  
“Um … maybe.”  
“Did you ever think about having sex with me before future me came here?”  
Regina looked at her questioningly, but she took a step back. “Why are you asking me this?”  
Emma sighed and refilled both of their glasses. “We have a problem.”  
She took a seat on the chair, leaning forward in the chair, her hands cupping the glass. Regina continued to stand, studying the other woman who didn’t look tired despite the late hour but appeared tired in another way.   
“What’s wrong?” Regina finally asked taking her own seat.  
“Have you ever done astral projection?”  
“I have not. I am familiar with it however.”  
“Late last night I took a potion that Gold prepared and then 12 hours in my future self’s mind to see if I could make heads or tails over all of this stuff.”  
She paused and Regina could tell as Emma took a sip of her drink that this was not an easy subject for her to talk about. She didn’t say anything, figuring Emma would speak up when she was ready to do so.  
“The whole idea was not that I was in my future self as you know her, but an alternate time line future me in order to look into your death.”  
“The shooting?”  
“Yes. You see I had this theory that the reason my future self came back here to this time was somehow connected. That despite her saying she had Gold help her cast a spell to get her time line fixed that maybe it sent her back here to fix my time line.”  
“And did this trip to the future confirm that theory?”  
“No,” Emma said. “Which is why we have a problem. Future Emma, the one who has been here, I think she’s playing both of us for fools.”


	19. Chapter 19

“How do you mean?” Regina asked.   
Emma got up and paced. She stopped suddenly thinking of how her future self was doing that earlier in the apartment. She didn’t want any comparisons between the two of them so she sat back down.  
“My history isn’t a secret to you,” Emma said. “I was a thief, but part of me being a thief was being a con artist. First thing you do is pick your mark and then you find some weakness to exploit to get what you want but you do it in a way that makes the mark believe it is their idea.”  
“I assume in this scenario, I am the mark.”  
“You are.”  
“Enlighten me then Miss Swan, why would your future self go through the trouble of coming back through time to con me? What could she possibly want?”  
Emma exhaled. This was the step that there was no coming back from. “You Regina. She wants you.”  
She waited for some reaction from Regina, but the brunette continued to sit there staring at her. Emma started to laugh and then took another drink, “Of course. You already know this. She told you, did she?”  
“She has certainly told me more than you have bothered to.”  
“Oh God, she got to you didn’t she? She actually has you believing her story.”  
“Miss Swan, I assure you that no one has got to me. The only that is getting to me is my annoyance over you at this moment. If you have nothing further to say, why don’t you do us both the favor of leaving.”   
“Damn, she is good,” Emma said. “I mean once I figured out what she was doing I thought, she had some balls attempting to con me but the fact she has you believing her lies this quickly is almost masterful.”  
“Miss Swan!”  
“Sorry, sorry,” she said. “Would you hear me out at least?”  
“If you can get to the point in a timely manner.”  
“Timely I am not sure I can do. This is more than a little complicated. Feel free to stop me if I do end up saying something you haven’t heard from her already. Here is what we thought we knew. Future Emma comes back to this time where she blames me for ruining her happy life because of me bringing Marian here. In this future she says that she is married to you. Then she says she wakes up in this alternate timeline where she no longer lives in Storybrooke, isn’t married to you, Henry hates her and you are dead. She says she makes a deal with Gold to come back here to figure out what went wrong and she immediately targets on the Marian thing. She tells me this whole story about how it was going out with Robin that made her see you as someone she wanted to have a relationship with but now Robin is out of the picture because of Marian and so you two never have that relationship in what she says is this alternate timeline.”  
Regina sighed, “Can you get to the part where you believe she is a con artist extraordinaire?”  
“I’m getting there. Look everything she had done since getting here has been in someway directed at getting to you. She came to see you first; she has been sneaking around to see you apparently. I assume she told you that we are married in the future.”  
Regina looked away, “And that we have a daughter.”  
“Yeah, Alex,”  
“Alexandra.”  
Emma caught a sadness in Regina’s eyes in that instant. She paused before speaking again. “This future it seems a little too good to be true and frankly the way you and I are with each other I don’t see. I have told her as much but she keeps insisting on it. Enter my theory that this alternate future she says she ended up in may actually be my real future. I don’t want a future where Henry hates me and then there is your death. So I think maybe if I can get a glimpse of it there will be something there to tell me if that is indeed the future path we are on.”  
“Wait,” Regina said. “What were you hoping to see in this future that would prove anything to you?”  
“I was hoping to prove your death wasn’t a suicide.”  
“Excuse me? I thought you and future Emma said I was shot and killed.”  
“You were and I ruled it a suicide.”  
“Clearly something is amiss because I sure wouldn’t kill myself. I would never … I wouldn’t do that to Henry.”  
“In this future I, well it seemed like you did it because of Henry. You see in this timeline, I ended up fighting you for custody of Henry and you lost. It was a little more complicated than that but that was the result and then you were dead, shot in the head.”  
“What do you mean by more complicated than that?”  
“It’s not really integral to the story.”  
“Let me be the judge to that.”  
Emma exhaled. “The custody hearing was a like a character hearing about you and people here they testified against you, said things about what you were like before in the Enchanted Forest.”  
“I see. They got their chance to take shots at the Evil Queen and they took it. I can’t say I blame them and now I can see how you got custody of Henry. Is there anything else that you are leaving out?”  
Emma looked at the floor.  
“Just tell me. It couldn’t possibly get any worse.”  
“You and I slept together. It was after I brought back Marian. I came to check on you and we were arguing and then we had sex. Then things went badly because I was a jerk about the whole thing and then it snowballed from there leading to me challenging you for custody. Then, then you were dead.”  
Silence permeated the room and Emma wondered what Regina was thinking.  
“Anyway, when I went though the astral projection I was hoping to see if you had killed yourself or if it was murder because the time when it happened is coming up soon and I thought if it was murder maybe there was something back here in our time that would prevent it from happening and thus prevent that future. It would fix things and maybe future Emma would see this isn’t the timeline she was supposed to be fixing to get her life back.”  
“This is why you were asking me if I had a gun.”  
“Yes, you see future Emma claimed she had seen the police report which had some details and the whole story didn’t seem right to me. The police report was a poor job and I couldn’t imagine myself doing such half-assed work. The gun used to kill you is the same kind of gun you owned, and the same kind of gun I own.”  
“So which one was used?”  
“Neither.”  
“But you just said.”  
“I said it was the same kind. These guns were standard issue when I got here but remember I upgraded. You got yours from Graham as did I. But when I ordered more for the department I kept mine and I didn’t know about yours. In my future glimpse, my future self found your lockbox in the closet and while she couldn’t open it, it was heavy like there was still a gun inside. I thought first thing in the morning I would see where those other guns went. I know they were turned over for the village surplus auction but I don’t know who bought them. I figure there has to a record of who purchased them.”  
“There would be but it’s not needed. One person bought all the stuff at the last auction except for the cars. Mr. Gold.”  
“He has the guns?”  
“He either has them or he has sold them off by now. It’s hard to say. There are no shortages of people in this town who would love to see me dead as your story proves so that’s it then, I am to be murdered sometime here in the near future and somehow it gets ruled a suicide. How exactly does this prove that future Emma is playing us?”  
Emma stood and started to pace. She couldn’t help it. She thought better on her feet. “First off, you are not going to be murdered. I won’t let that happen, even if I have to track down all those guns and confiscate them. Secondly, it was ruled a suicide by me in this future even though she knew it wasn’t. She knew it wasn’t and she did it anyway.”  
“Why?”  
“Guilt. She felt guilty about your death. She felt like if she hadn’t done the things she had done you would be alive. It didn’t matter to her if you killed yourself or if someone else did. She felt like she pulled the trigger.”  
“That still doesn’t prove anything about the future Emma that is here now. Why are you so sure that she isn’t being sincere? Does the idea of us being together offend you that much?”  
“What offends me is that someone is fucking with us,” Emma said. “I would have thought that would offend you too. Or do you really find her to be that charming?”  
“I find her far more agreeable than you at the moment.”  
“I bet,” Emma responded. “Look I was in the mind of that Emma for 12 hours and do you want to know what I discovered? I discovered that she cared for you. She had feelings for you and she didn’t get the chance to see what might develop from those feelings because she was a complete idiot. And then you died and any chance she may have had to make it right with you died with you. She snapped Regina. In a matter of hours her mind went from upset to full-blown fucking crazy. I should know I was in it. I am telling you by the end of my time in her mind she was convinced she had stood beside you in that room and shot you through the head.”  
“How do you know she didn’t?”  
“Because I knew anything she saw, smelt, touched, whatever while I was in there including any thoughts she was having. She didn’t kill you. She was too upset that she lost out on the future she thought she should have had with you. A future I think over the years that followed she convinced herself she did have with you, until one day she figured out a way to get back here and actually try and have it.”  
“You’re saying future Emma is the Emma from this future timeline. That the one she talks about is all in her head? That is a hell of a leap in logic.”  
“Let’s look at what she’s done since she has been here again. She has lied to me repeatedly; lied to you in that she hasn’t mentioned the suicide either. She has been almost obsessive about you.”  
Regina didn’t want to admit that Emma may have a point, but future Emma herself had described Regina as being like a drug.  
“For argument’s sake, let’s say your new theory is right and she is this Emma. Then I still fail to see how she is playing the both of us when if what she wants is me, why was she encouraging me to flirt with you? She wanted her future back, she was quite clear on that and she felt the only way that would happen was if you and I got together.”  
“Like I said, she is a con artist. The real question is what has she asked you for?”  
“All she has asked me for pertains to getting you and me together.”  
Emma wasn’t sure Regina was telling the exact truth but her lie detector didn’t go off. “Con artists are very good at getting what they want by convincing the other person that it’s what they want, that it is there idea. Are you sure she hasn’t hinted at anything, a plan of some sort that would allow her to get this future she wants?”  
She thought about how future Emma asked her to find a way to stay here in this time so they could be together. She had asked for something.  
“Maybe a better question is if you are right, what do we do about it? Or do we have to do anything at all?”  
“Of course we do. If she is as messed up in the head as I think she is, she is a danger to you, to me, to herself and to Henry.”  
It was the first thing that made sense to Regina – she couldn’t let any harm come to Henry. Still she wasn’t sure that Emma was right about the other Emma.  
“That magic that brought her here; it isn’t permanent. She will return to whatever future she belongs in.”  
“Yes and she has been vague on when that expires. Has she told you?”  
“No, but I do not believe she is lying about it.”  
“There is no real way to tell if she is.”  
“No there isn’t,” Regina conceded. She needed time to think all of this through. She wasn’t ready to dismiss future Emma yet, despite the present Emma’s reservations. She told Emma she would think over what she said and then she escorted her to the door.  
Emma got into her car and pulled away, hoping Regina would see that she was telling the truth. She was preoccupied with the thoughts swirling in her head she failed to notice the person who was standing outside, watching Regina’s house.


	20. Chapter 20

Emma got home and found her counterpart was still up. She was sitting on the couch either watching the television or pretending to watch. Emma suddenly didn’t want the woman there in her place. She knew it was irrational to think but she felt like the woman could read her mind at times. Future Emma gave her a smile, “Headed to bed?”  
“Yeah,” she said. “Are you?”  
“Nah, think I will stay up for a bit. I don’t sleep much.”  
Probably from your guilty conscious, Emma thought. She didn’t say anything, just went to her room. She sat on the bed hoping that this would soon all be over. She felt like her life was no longer hers to control. She kept trying to shake the feeling of being in the other Emma’s head. That Emma had gone crazy of that she was sure. If it was possible to observe a mind breaking, Emma had felt it happening from the inside.  
If she was being honest with herself, it scared her. If that could happen to some future version of her, what prevented it from happening to her?   
The idea that it was all caused by Regina’s death was another layer to it. Henry would be devastated if Regina died, and Emma would of course be affected because of their son. But how would she feel without that?  
Regina and her were simply – complicated.   
There was no other way to describe it. Regina could be a real infuriating bitch at times. Then there were times when Emma could see that Regina wanted to do the right thing, be a better person and Emma liked that Regina didn’t merely give into be the Evil Queen everyone in town feared. It could have happened after she brought Marian back – she saw first hand how Regina had stood there in Granny’s in disbelief over Robin hugging his wife.   
Regina didn’t give in or lash out though.   
Regina was a complicated person. It would be easy to write her off as one thing or another, but she had to many layers for someone to describe her in simple terms.  
Even now Emma wasn’t sure she could do that.  
That other Emma, she clearly didn’t understand Regina fully either or she wouldn’t have been stupid enough to suggest they keep sleeping together why she was seeing Hook still, Emma thought. She was sure she was smarter than that, not that she had any plans of sleeping with Regina at all, her mind amended.  
But the other Emma had.  
She thought about the letter that Regina had written that other Emma. She was sure she could recite it word for word. The other Emma had read it enough times that she too had memorized it and it was more than words to that Emma.  
Now that I am left with nothing I find myself here again thinking about the what ifs. What if you hadn’t left that morning like you did? What if you had just talked to me? What if you had accepted that it wasn’t a one-night stand? What if you had kissed me first?   
That Emma had taken those words to her heart and mind. What if. What if she had accepted it wasn’t a one-night stand? Perhaps if she had then she and that Regina would have gotten together and built a life together. Instead that Emma began constructing that life in her head.   
Now she was certain that the Emma out there on her couch was that Emma. It was the only thing that made logical sense to her as much as anything could. One of her original questions had been why did that Emma retain her so called original memories if the timeline had been changed? Shouldn’t she had forgotten those memories like everyone else would have? The answer had to be that there were no real memories of a life with Regina. She had made it up, or worse she honestly believed that she and Regina were married. Either way it made her dangerous.  
She hadn’t trusted her from the beginning, but now she felt like she needed to be wary of her. If she was that determined to get Regina then she wasn’t going to let anything stop her. Her only solace was that she knew that Emma hadn’t killed Regina. There was no way of hiding those thoughts when she saw Regina’s body lying there. She had been consumed by her grief like a matchstick that burns bright but only for a short time before its tip turns black.   
And while that Emma had kept those sentences from the letter in her mind that posed the question what if, Emma herself couldn’t help but wonder more about that last sentence  
I need to tell you that…  
What was Regina going to say? And why didn’t she get the chance to finish saying it?  
….  
Regina drove Henry to school, ignoring her phone as it vibrated. She had already gotten a text from Future Emma that morning and chose not to respond. She had slept poorly – spending most of her night thinking about Future Emma and if she was indeed the con artist that present Emma was making her out to be.  
She needed that time to think last night and realize she was being too passive. It wasn’t like her to sit on the sidelines and let others dictate the world around her. And she was done doing it in this situation.   
She let Henry off school and proceeded to drive not to her office, but instead to Gold’s shop. As loathe as she was to deal with the imp, he did have some answers she needed.   
After parking her car, she checked her phone – both Emmas had called her. She shook her head – they were going to have to wait. She entered the store.   
“Regina,” Gold said, clearly not expecting her nor wanting her to be there.  
“I have a problem,” she said.  
“And that means you automatically have to come to me?”  
“When it involves magic yes. I have an Emma Swan problem, two to be exact.”  
“I have met the other one,” he said. “She has information I would like to have.”  
“I bet she does and I might be willing to help you get that information, but I need some assistance first.”  
“And what makes your issue so important?”  
“Look, you can help me or not. I have other resources but I honestly don’t feel like going through a ton of books when I have a simpler resource right here. Besides if you are wanting information from future Emma then you have a stake in all of this too. Frankly, I don’t care what it is, but if it gets me what I want then I don’t care.”  
“What do you need my dearie?”  
“Two things. First off, since you know that future Emma is here, you must have given some thought to how she got back here and how long she may have back in this time.”  
Regina watched as Gold walked behind the counter, making a show out of thinking it through. Regina knew better. She knew Gold was trying to think two steps ahead of her and why she wanted the information.   
“She said we made a deal in the future as she needed my assistance to get back. Presumably that involved the time portal your sister built.”  
“I came up with that theory on my own but it doesn’t explain why she would only be here for a limited time. She has been clear on that matter and I do believe her that she has limited time here.”  
“She says she wants to fix the future. Tell me Regina are you opposed to this?”  
“Not at all,” she said.   
“I suppose you wouldn’t be?”  
“And what do you mean by that?”  
“Your murder or suicide or whatever. But in the timeline the girls wanted to see the other day with my help dealt with your death. I assume that is your motivation.”  
“It is. It begs the question of what yours is.”  
“Self-preservation as always my dearie.”  
Neither trusted the other but Regina was tired of this side-stepping. She started to think of why he would be doing it.  
“You have no idea how she got back here, do you?” she said, a slight smile gracing her face. When Gold failed to make immediate eye contact with her, she knew she was right. So it wasn’t just her that couldn’t figure it out.   
“You know as well as I do that time travel isn’t exactly standard magic. If nothing else Zelena proved it takes dark magic.”  
“Which explains why Emma would need your help in the future; her magic being light magic after all.”  
“Correct, but for me to have sent her back here, it would suggest I acquired knowledge of time travel in the years that follow this one. It would mean finding a less aggressive way than the way Zelena did it. I still keep coming back to the portal. It must be connected to it somehow.”  
Connected yes, but how, she didn’t know and clearly Gold didn’t either.   
“One last question and then you can tell me what information you want from future Emma and I will do my best to get it.”  
“Ask.”  
“You bought a set of guns at the last village auction. Do you still have them? And if you don’t, where are they?”  
“That is technically two questions,” he said. “Wait here, let me check my inventory list.”  
She turned as the door behind her opened. Great, she thought, and my problem follows me now.  
“What are you doing here?” present Emma asked.  
“I am doing your job,” she said. Emma gave her a confused look. “The guns. Gold is checking his inventory now.”  
“Oh, yeah, that is what I am doing here.”  
“Where is your other self?”  
“I don’t know. She snuck out when I was in the shower this morning. I half expected her to be with you.”  
“Sorry to disappoint,” she said turning from her.  
“You may not want to believe, it but I don’t want to see you get hurt in all of this,” Emma said putting her hand on Regina’s arm to stop her. Regina looked down at that hand before looking Emma in the eyes.  
“I appreciate that.”  
“Does that mean you believe me about her?”  
“It means I am willing to entertain the possibility yes. After all, the idea of you going crazy doesn’t seem that far fetched. I always thought you were a little unbalanced.”  
“And there is the Regina I know,” Emma smiled.  
Something about Emma saying that made Regina smile. Yes, she had been too passive in all of this. Gold came out a moment later and he looked at Emma and then to Regina.  
“Do you have them?” Regina asked.  
“I have one.”  
“Where are the other three?” Emma asked.  
“They were purchased,” Gold said.   
“By whom?”  
“Regina,” Gold said turning to her. “I will call you later about that other matter we were discussing. Here is the information you requested.”  
He slid her three papers and then went back into the back of his shop. Regina took the papers that she recognized as purchase orders and walked out with Emma on her heels.  
“Who bought them?” she asked as soon as they were outside.  
“Hook,” Regina said.   
”What!” Emma said grabbing the papers from her.  
“No, not there, there, across the street,” Regina said.  
Emma looked over and saw Hook was leaning against a building across from Gold’s shop.   
“You best go talk with your boyfriend. He doesn’t look too happy,” Regina said taking back the papers.   
Emma looked from Hook to Regina. “Yeah, well, I want to know who bought those guns.”  
“Stop by my office later,” Regina said walking to her car. She noticed Hook wasn’t watching Emma walk across the street to him. His eyes were on her as she got into her car.  
…  
“Killian, what are you doing out here?” she asked.  
“I was going to ask you the same thing. What are you doing in that crocodile’s shop and why were you with Regina?”  
“I wasn’t with Regina. She happened to be there at Gold’s when I got there.”  
“And what were you doing there?”  
“It’s a case, I am working on. I am trying to track down some guns that were originally owned by the village.”  
He looked at her doubtfully and then reached out and pulled her closer. “I don’t like you dealing with anything that concerns him or her. You need to stay away from both of them.”  
Emma backed away from him, not liking his forcefulness. “It’s a case. Gold had information I needed.”  
“Is this case the reason I have barely seen you these last couple of days or why you ignored my calls the other night.”  
“What calls?”  
“I called you two nights ago a few times and you never picked up.”  
Future Emma, she thought. Why wasn’t she surprised she would do something like this.  
“I didn’t know you called, honest. There must be something wrong with my phone,” she lied.   
“And last night?”  
”What about last night?”  
“I thought I would stop by. I got to your place and your car was gone. Where were you?”  
“I got sent out by dispatch to a burglary. It was no big deal.”  
She didn’t like lying to him but she didn’t know what else to do. She couldn’t very well tell him the truth. “Look I got to get into the station,” she said. “Let’s have dinner tonight, ok?”  
He nodded yes and then bent down to kiss her. She kept the kiss short; she needed to find out who bought those guns.  
She walked across the street to get to her car and as soon as she put it in gear she was dialing Regina.   
“Is your boyfriend drama over?” Regina asked.  
“Funny. Who bought the guns?”  
“Oh you are going to love this. One was purchased a couple of days after the auction by Dr. Whale. Another was purchased by Jefferson and this last guy I don’t even know how I wronged, but he owns the hardware store in town. The name in this land is Lewis Broughton.”  
“Fuck,” Emma swore.   
“Exactly. Two of these people would gladly see me dead.”  
“I told you I am not going to let that happen.”  
“I guess you will get your chance to prove it Savior.”  
….  
It was mid-afternoon when her secretary let her know that Sheriff Swan was there to see her. She hadn’t spoken to Emma since that morning when Emma said she was going to retrieve those guns if she had to point her own gun at the people to get them. Regina had to applaud her zeal if not her actual plan.  
When she had read the names on the purchase order she had gotten sick. Jefferson and Whale – both would love to see her dead and she found that she couldn’t fault them for it. She had screwed both men over.  
The idea that she would let either man close enough to shoot her though was another matter. She had been thinking about that – why wouldn’t she use magic to stop someone who was going to kill her. In this future time could she be that distraught over losing Henry that she let someone kill her.   
No, she thought, it wasn’t possible.  
“Let her in,” she told her secretary. The door opened and she was about to ask Emma how the retrieval of the guns was going when she realized this was future Emma coming toward her desk. She had shut the door behind and if she wasn’t mistaken, she had locked it as well.  
“Hello beautiful,” Emma said and before Regina could say anything Emma was coming behind the desk, and was kissing her. Regina’s mind told her to make the woman maintain her distance. That wasn’t the part of her mind she listened to as she kissed back.  
She couldn’t help but be in awe how easy this Emma made their interactions seem. Her logical mind caught up with her and she stopped kissing her.  
“It’s not really appropriate for the office,” she said.  
“Really?” Emma said taking a seat on a chair in front of the desk. “I’ve got news for you, we’ve had sex in here plenty of times.”  
“Is that a fact?” Regina asked doubtfully. It certainly didn’t seem like something she would do and this might be the opening she needed to get this Emma talking about the future.   
“Yes,” Emma said. “I could show you right now.”  
“Thank you, but no. You see why I have a hard time with the idea of us being intimate here of all places. What’s wrong with our bed at home?”  
“Privacy,” Emma said without missing a beat. “We have a young child.”  
“Alexandra,” Regina said. She loved that name.   
“Yes, well, maybe you weren’t getting a lot of action when Henry was growing up, but trust me if you were, you would learn the meaning of interrupted.”  
“And our answer is to have sex here?”  
“Or anywhere we can grab some time. We’ve done it my office, why not yours?”  
If this Emma was a con artist she was very good Regina thought, as she didn’t miss a beat in throwing a response back. She could see that trait in the present day Emma when they had verbally assaulted each other.   
“If I ask you something, will you promise me you will tell me the truth?” Regina asked.  
“Of course,” Emma said sitting forward in her chair. “I would hope you know that I will always be truthful with you.”  
Regina was almost caught off guard by how sincere Emma seemed to be.  
“It’s not that I want to doubt you, please don’t think that. But seeing how I am with this Emma it’s hard to believe that you and I will ever be together. I was hoping you could provide me with some sort of proof.”  
Emma sat back in the chair and then got up. She walked over to Regina and leaned on the desk beside her, looking down at her.   
“I would like to say that the only proof I could give you is the love I feel for you, the love I know you see because you’re sitting there and you are looking at me and I am looking at you, and you have to see it. You have to feel it,” she said. “I’d like to say that and you just be able to accept it. But I know how your mind works. I know you’ve been betrayed by those you have cared about so it’s not in your nature to accept things at face value. I wish you would in this case. There is proof I could offer you, but I am hesitant to offer it up to you and the only reason I say that is because of the affect, the emotional affect, it could have on you. You see there is one item that for whatever reason stayed with me when my timeline shifted. I like to think it stayed with me because of you.”  
“What is it?”  
Emma sighed and stepped to the window behind Regina and looking out it. It forced Regina to turn around in her chair to keep an eye on her.   
“You need to understand that when you gave this to me, it meant the world to me. You admitted you were reluctant to do so because you were worried I might misinterpret what you meant by giving it to me. But I understood. I understood that in giving it to me you were ready to let go of the past and join me in the future we had planned.”  
She was still facing the window, but Regina saw her take something from her pocket. She turned back to Regina and held her clenched fist out to her before slowly opening it.  
Regina could only stare in disbelief before taking the item with her own hand. She knew this like she knew her own skin. She looked up at Emma.  
“I gave you Daniel’s ring.”  
“Yes,” Emma said. “It’s the only proof I can offer. I hope it is enough.”


	21. Chapter 21

It had already been a long day when she got the phone call from Regina. She expected the other woman merely wanted to ask her how she was progressing in getting the guns back, but something in Regina’s voice told her that wasn’t the case when Regina asked her to come to her office.   
It was already after five and she was supposed to meet Hook at 7 p.m. for dinner, but she knew Regina wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important. Regina left the outside door open for her – something she planned on lecturing her about as you never leave a door like that unlocked after hours especially if you were due to be killed soon. She walked in and found Regina standing by the window behind her desk looking out of it.  
Regina hadn’t seemed to notice her so she cleared her throat. Regina turned toward her. “Miss Swan, thanks for coming.”  
“Sure,” she said approaching cautiously. There was something not right about this. Something in the way Regina was holding herself. Her shoulders seemed to be lower than normal as if she was giving in under some weight. It was the strong, straight posture that Emma was used to seeing from her.   
She took a seat but Regina made no move to sit or to speak.   
“I made progress with the guns,” Emma said. No reaction. “Yeah, I um I got Dr. Whale’s mostly because he hadn’t registered it and I threatened to arrest him and honestly I think he only turned it over because he had a date tonight that he didn’t want to miss.”  
“Jefferson’s was a little harder to get. His wasn’t registered either, but he didn’t seem to care about that. I asked him why he even had a gun, and he wasn’t very forthcoming with an answer, not that it is surprising. Anyway, I finally told him that he could either turn the gun over to me until he got it registered or I could confiscate it for good because he didn’t have it registered and either way I wasn’t leaving until he did so. He still said no, so I simply waited until he was picking up Grace from school and made a point of letting him know that the whole school and his daughter would know about that gun if he didn’t give it to me. It was a low blow but I didn’t know what to do. I followed him back to his place and he gave it to me.”  
“What about the third gun?” Regina asked, her voice flat and emotionless.  
“That is a problem. The reason the shop owner bought the gun was because he had been robbed and wanted to have a sense of protection, although the man is so timid I doubt highly he would have ever loaded it much less shot it. Anyway, ironically the gun was stolen from him. It’s unaccounted for.”  
Regina fell silent again.  
Emma got up and approached her. “What’s wrong?”  
“Future you was here earlier.”  
“Did she upset you? Did she do something to you?”  
Regina’s eyes went to the floor and then she looked out the window once more. “I asked her for proof, proof that the things she was saying about me and her were true.”  
“I can’t imagine what proof she could possibly offer up.”  
“Nor did I. Imagine my surprise then when she offered up proof.”  
“She had proof? How?”  
“She says when the timeline changed it stayed with her – maybe because she had it on her, because she always had it on her.”  
“What was it?”  
“A ring. Specifically, the ring Daniel gave me when he asked me to marry him.”  
She opened her hand and Emma saw the small, simple ring lying on her palm for a moment before Regina closed her hand around it once more.  
Emma wasn’t sure what to say. She knew what that ring must mean to Regina. She hated herself for asking the next question, “Are you sure it was the actual ring?”  
Regina stepped away from her and Emma felt like complete shit.  
“Yes,” Regina said finally. “It was his ring. I had lost it you see, lost in an effort to get rid of you.”  
“So that’s it then, she was telling the truth the whole time,” Emma said. She didn’t like conceding the point because she had been so sure that her future self was more than a little shady.  
“No,” Regina exhaled. “The ring is proof she was not telling the truth.”  
Regina took a seat at her desk and Emma moved around to sit in front of it. She was trying to think how Regina came to this conclusion and trying not to be too happy about it.  
“How does this prove she is lying?”  
“I refuse to believe I would give it to her, no matter how charming I may have found her,” Regina said. “She has to be lying which makes her even more dangerous than you may think she is.”  
“How so?”  
“Magic. She doesn’t get this ring without magic,” Regina explained. “It is bothersome to me that she could find this, just as it is bothersome to wonder how exactly she got back here in the first place. Did she really think that she could come back here and succeed in, what get me to date you? I am still at a loss as to what her goals are here.”  
“She wants to keep you alive,” Emma said.   
“Then why not just go after whoever kills me?”  
“Maybe she doesn’t know who did it.”  
Regina shrugged and Emma noticed her eyes again went down to the ring.   
“Did you tell her that you didn’t believe her?” Emma asked suddenly.  
“No,” Regina smiled. “What would be the point in that?”  
“If she thinks you are still on her side that could help us determine what she is up to.”  
“My thought exactly.”  
“How would you recommend I con a con artist?”  
“Difficult,” Emma said. “But not impossible.” She looked down at her phone; she needed to leave soon to meet Killian for dinner.”  
“Do you have someplace to be?”   
“What? No,” she said. “I just need to make a phone call. I am just going to step out a moment when I get back let’s map out our next move.”  
She went outside and dialed Killian.   
“Hey love,” he answered.  
“Hey,” she said. “I know we were supposed to do dinner tonight, but something came up with this case and I have to take rain check.”  
Pause.  
“This must be a very important case,” he said.   
“It is or I wouldn’t cancel,”  
“Yeah, well let me know when you have time Swan,” he said before hanging up.   
She felt bad about canceling but she had to work on this with Regina. She was bothered by the point Regina brought up – why wouldn’t her future self try and stop Regina from being killed by going after the person responsible? She may have been right when she said the killer’s identity may not be known, but what if she wasn’t right?  
She walked back into Regina’s office, “Do you know how to make one of those astral projection potions?”  
“Yes, why?”  
“Because I need another glimpse at the future.”  
“To what end?”  
“You want to know how she got back here; I can make that happen and maybe get some other answers.”  
…  
Future Emma stood in front of the mirror and waved her hand across it after seeing her younger self cancel her date with Hook. She used her magic to spy on her younger self, and now there was a smile on her face. This could be an opening for her.  
She had left Regina’s more than a little disconcerted. Despite Regina’s “niceness” to her, she sensed she overplayed her hand with the ring. It was a risk introducing an object that Regina had a major emotional attachment to, but it had to be done. She had to offer Regina something when she asked for proof.   
She couldn’t think about her mistakes right now. Right now she had a date with Hook she intended to keep.  
She could only hope that one day Regina would understand that everything she was doing was for her. She wasn’t going to lose her, even if meant taking more risks.   
She belonged with Regina and she wasn’t going to let anything stop her.  
…

Emma watched Regina as she began to prepare the astral projection potion. They were back at Regina’s house. Emma had brought pizza and they along with Henry had eaten dinner. If Henry thought it was odd that Emma was there, he didn’t say anything.   
Now they were alone with Henry upstairs.   
“Were there signs that she was lying that you noticed before you went into the future?” Regina asked.  
“Nothing major. One of the things I noticed is she didn’t have any sort of line on her finger to indicate she wore a ring. If she were really married for several years you would think there would be some sign that she wore a ring.”  
Regina considered it, but didn’t say anything.  
“I don’t know, her whole attitude from the very beginning has bothered me,” Emma said.   
“Is that because of her fixation on me?”  
“That was part of it, I admit.”  
“At least you are honest about it.”  
Regina continued to work on the potion thankfully not offering to teach Emma how to make it. After this experience she was pretty sure she wasn’t going to be eager to learn anymore magic.  
“Do you have any idea when my death happened? I mean the exact time?”  
“Not an exact time. The coroner said it was 24 to 32 hours before your body had been found. Why are you asking?”  
“Curiosity.”  
“A morbid curiosity.”  
“If this is about preventing my death in the other Emma’s eyes, then perhaps it is my death we should be concentrating on.”  
“What do you think I have been doing all day? I have all the guns except the one that Gold has and the one that is unaccounted for. I hate to say this but I don’t really see Gold bothering with a gun if he chose to kill you, which means it’s the other gun I need to track down. The whole point of me doing this again is to try and get more information, including about your death.”  
“Yes but what if your future self doesn’t know who killed me, then we probably aren’t going to get a lot of useful information about it. There is however one way we can assure we do know who kills me.”  
“How is that?”  
“Seeing it happen.”  
Regina picked up the glass Emma had just watched her pour something into. She thought she was getting ready to mix it, but then she realized what was happening.  
“Regina, don’t.”  
“Watch over Henry,” Regina said before swallowing the potion as Emma yelled no. Emma reached her as she fell to the floor unconscious. She knelt beside her.  
”What have you done?”

Future Emma walked up to Hook’s boat. “Mind if I come aboard?” she asked.  
One look at her and she knew that Hook wouldn’t say no. She was wearing a short blue dress that left little to the imagination.  
He walked over and leaned against the railing. “I thought you had a case to work on.”  
“No,” she smiled. “I just wanted to surprise you.”  
He smiled back at her, “In that case come aboard love.”


	22. Chapter 22

Emma cursed Regina with every step up the stairs. She carried the unconscious woman in her arms. She could have at least taken the damn potion upstairs in her own bedroom, Emma thought as she reached the top of the stairs. Taking a deeper breath from the exertion, she continued to what she was guessing was Regina’s room at the end of the hall.   
She used her foot to nudge the door open and she immediately knew it had to be Regina’s. It was a large bedroom and their were little signs that said it was Regina’s – a picture of Henry at the bedside, a three-corner mirror on a vanity that didn’t have a single thing out of place, and of course the bed was made.   
Emma gently placed Regina down on top. She stared down at the brunette.  
“File this under another bad decision of Regina Mills,” she said.  
“Mom?”  
Emma turned to see Henry in the doorway.   
“What’s wrong with mom?” he asked coming forward and stepping in front of her. He touched Regina’s arm.  
“Your mom is fine,” Emma reassured him. “She’s just asleep.”  
“Did something happen?”  
Emma wasn’t sure what to say. The one thing she and Regina had been careful about was not involving Henry in this.   
“Regina … she took a potion. It’s a potion that is going to keep her asleep for the next 12 hours and well she wanted me to keep an eye on you while she is asleep.”  
“I don’t understand. What kind of potion?”  
Emma could see the concern written on his face. She silently cursed Regina once more in her mind. “Do you trust me?”  
Henry looked at Regina and then at Emma, “yes.”  
“Good, and you trust me, right?”  
“Yes.”  
“Your mom and I are working on something together. I can’t tell you what.”  
“Why not?”  
“Henry,” she said bending down to look him in the eye. “You got to trust me on this. What Regina and I are doing is important. It concerns all of our futures and I really need your mom’s help with it so she took this potion to help. I know it doesn’t make any sense, but you have to believe me that Regina and I just want the best possible future for you and this is part of what we need to do. Ok?”  
Henry again looked at Regina. “And she will be ok?”  
“I promise,” Emma said even as she got a sinking feeling. Regina was playing a dangerous game – if she had timed this wrong and there was a good chance of it since Emma didn’t know the exact time of death then Regina could literally experience her future self’s death. “She is going to be fine.”

…  
In the future

Regina stared at the wall as she lay in her bed. She had no idea what time it was, and she wasn’t even sure she cared. After all she had nothing to get up for. She was no longer mayor – the emergency referendum vote had stripped that from her within days of the custody hearing.   
And she was no longer a mother.  
At least that is what the sham of a court had said when they took Henry from her.   
She wondered if it meant she really wasn’t a mother anymore. Could you be a mom when you didn’t have a child?  
It took more time to drag herself out of bed, not even bothering with a shower, she left the room. As she walked down the hall she paused in front of the closed door to Henry’s room. She had kept the door closed since the first day after the hearing ended. That day she had spent in his room. She had lost all track of time just sitting in there, picking up his things, hugging his pillow, smelling his worn clothes. She had spent the night in it and then walked out closing the door for what she swore to herself was forever.   
Yet every day she found she would stand there.  
She wanted to hear him in there playing a video game, or laughing after reading some passage from a book. She wanted him to burst out the door so hard that it would hit the wall where the doorknob would crash against it and leave its worn mark that she had kept painting over. She wanted him to come down to her home office like he would as a child when he wanted to show her something.  
So many moments. Moments she now felt like she took for granted.  
She tore herself away from the door knowing if she stayed there longer she would turn around and go back to bed. That is what she did yesterday.  
Regina made her way to her office and sat at her desk, pulling out the piece of paper she had begun writing on a few days ago – at least she thought it was a few days ago. She continued to lose track of time.   
A part of her wondered why she was bothering to write the letter at all. It was not as if she planned on giving it to Emma. She read what she had written so far.

 

Emma,  
When my beloved Daniel was murdered I used to spend days in isolation thinking of the what ifs. What if he had lived? What if he and I had gotten our happy ending? I became obsessed with the idea of a life I would never lead.   
The story of my life should be a lesson in what not to do.   
Maybe it was nothing less than I deserved for the harm I have caused others. Maybe it was another of life’s reminders that I don’t get a happy ending.   
You took away my only chance at happiness when you took Henry away from me. And what hurts the most is that you knew what you were doing.   
I sit here and I keep wondering why. The night we spent together meant more to me than you could ever imagine. I had always found you to be attractive, and yes sexy, but the idea that you shared the same dream I had – the dream of a life of freedom – was a complete surprise. That is why I kissed you. I thought here is someone who understands what it is like to have people define them, unable to make your own choices.  
You said to me that night that the Savior and the Evil Queen were roles but we didn’t have to play them and for a brief time I believed that. I believed it until you forced me to play that role in court in front of the entire town, in front my son.

 

It was several minutes before she began to write once more.

 

Now that I am left with nothing I find myself here again thinking about the what ifs. What if you hadn’t left that morning like you did? What if you had just talked to me? What if you had accepted that it wasn’t a one-night stand? What if you had kissed me first?   
I need to tell you that…

Her doorbell rang and she stopped her writing, waiting. It rang again – but not the front door, it was the back door. She placed the letter back in an envelope in the drawer. She had in her mind what she was going to write next and she had plenty of time to return to it later.   
She walked through the kitchen to the back door. She pulled aside the small curtain to see who could possible be there, although she suspected she knew who it was – it was the only person who had come since her isolation in the mansion.  
She opened the door so Snow could walk in.  
“Good day Regina,” Snow said carrying in several grocery bags with her.   
“Is it?” Regina answered shutting the door behind her. “You know you shouldn’t come here doing the day. Someone might see you. Besides, shouldn’t you be in school?”  
“It’s Sunday.”  
Regina shrugged as if the information meant nothing to her.  
“When I was here last, I noticed you were lacking some food,” Snow said putting the bags down on the counter. She began to unpack the items and put them away as Regina simply leaned against one of the counters.  
She said nothing as Snow continued her work. Snow finished and turned to her. “Henry misses you,” she said.  
Regina turned from her. Having someone else say his name was almost physically hurting her.   
“Regina, Regina,” Snow said as the other woman spaced out.   
Regina faced her once more. “How is he?”  
“He’s doing ok. Like I said he misses you greatly.”  
“I miss him too,” Regina said almost in a whisper.  
Once again Regina moved from her.  
“Regina,” Snow said. “You need to have hope.”  
“Hope?” Regina laughed. “What hope? I have nothing left to hope for. My son is gone. What are you even doing here? I am the one who caused you not to see your daughter grow up; you should be rejoicing that I won’t get to see my son grow up.”  
“Is that what you want?” Snow asked. “Do you want me to be like the others? Shun you? Say you got what you deserved?”  
“I did deserve it!” Regina said with a fierceness that startled Snow.   
“If I thought that was true, I would have testified against you at the hearing,” Snow said. “But I didn’t. I didn’t because what Emma did was wrong. She shouldn’t have taken Henry from you. I still don’t understand why she did it. I don’t understand why she all of a sudden became so angry toward you.”  
Regina bit her tongue. This was not the time to tell Snow she had slept with her daughter.   
“None of that matters now,” Regina said. “It’s done. It’s over and there is nothing I can do about any of it.”  
“People have wondered what you are going to do about it.”  
“Is that why you are here? Are you here to see if I am going to go all Evil Queen on the town and destroy everything? I mean that is my M.O., just ask any of those people who testified against me.”  
“Regina, I didn’t just come here to bring you groceries; and no I didn’t come here to see if you were going to go Evil Queen on us. You need to pull yourself together. Take a shower, change your clothes.”  
“What’s wrong with my clothes?” she asked looking down at her pajamas.   
“You were wearing the same thing when I was here a few days ago.”  
Regina shrugged again, “Tell me what it matters.”  
“It matters because I am picking Henry up after school tomorrow and … and well I’ve already told him that I would um drop him off here for a bit so you two can spend time together.”  
Regina stared at her, not sure she heard her correctly.  
“It will only be for a short amount of time so you aren’t found out but I figured a little bit of time is better than nothing.”  
Regina startled her again as she rushed forward and hugged her. “My son, I get to see my son,” Regina said.  
“Yes,” Snow laughed at her obvious joy. “But not if you don’t take a shower.”  
“I will shower. I will dress nice. I will do anything and everything if it means I can see him.”  
“Good, because Henry doesn’t need to see you like this. He is worried enough as it is about you. So you need to try and eat something too.”  
“I will, I will. Thank you Snow. Thank you so much.”  
…  
Present day  
Future Emma took a seat in the bottom of Hook’s boat as he poured them a couple of drinks. She was going to need a little liquid courage if she was going to get through this. He handed her the glass and she immediately took a drink, enjoying the feeling of the liquid coating her throat as it went down.   
“You seem a tad nervous love,” Hook said taking a seat beside her on the bed.   
Of course, there was no real place to sit in the lower cabin except on the bed. What had she ever saw in him, she wondered.  
She wasn’t here to think about her mistakes, she was here to fix them.   
“I am not nervous,” she smiled at him before leaning in and giving him a kiss. He kissed her back hard, and she thought about how different he was from Regina. When Regina kissed her hard there was still a softness to it, but not with Killian.   
Hook stopped first, getting up and taking her glass from her and setting it down next to the one he poured for himself but never drank. He returned to the bed.  
“You look great tonight,” he said, running his finger along her arm.   
Stunning, Emma thought, Regina would have said I look stunning tonight. Or she would have admired her in the dress instead of leering at her like Hook was doing now. She knew she needed to keep her mind on the present and not on Regina but thinking about Regina may be the only way she could go through with this.   
She kissed him again and pulled him down on the bed on top of her.   
Yes, she would need to think of Regina to get through this.  
…  
In the future  
Regina looked at herself in the mirror. She had showered and dressed and actually looked more like herself than she had in days. After Snow left she had wasted no time in keeping her promise to look more presentable for when she saw Henry tomorrow.   
She went back downstairs, again pausing before Henry’s door but this time with a smile knowing she would get to see him, hug him tomorrow. She thought about going back to her office and the letter. Part of the reason she had been struggling with writing it was because she knew it was pointless. She wasn’t writing it for herself though, she was writing it for Emma.  
There were things she wanted to tell the other woman.  
It had taken some distance for her to really examine why Emma struck at her – did something to intentionally hurt her. It finally occurred to her that Emma thought Regina hurt her first, and in a way she had.  
When Emma first came to town Regina had done a thorough background check on her. She knew about growing up in the system, how Emma never really had a home. When she did live with a foster family it was for a short amount of time and she was given back once that couple had a kid of their own. Between that and feeling abandoned by her real parents Emma must have felt extremely rejected.  
Now she believed Regina too had rejected her.  
Nothing could be further from the truth. But Emma was so angry at her that she didn’t want to listen to the truth. All she knew was that Regina had told her no. Regina had made her feel like she wasn’t wanted.  
That is what she wanted to tell Emma – that she had been wanted. It was only the circumstances that had played against them. Regina wasn’t willing to compromise when it came to Hook. It wasn’t fair to any of them if Emma were to try and start something with Regina when she was dating the pirate still. Regina was hurt that Emma even thought that was an option.   
And there he was each day at the hearing with Emma, holding her hand. Regina couldn’t even look at them so she kept her head turned from them at all times.   
What bothered Regina was that she didn’t know what Emma expected of her. Emma knew Regina couldn’t bare to live without Henry, so why did she do this?  
She had fixed a sandwich and ate it at the table with a glass of milk thinking of what to do between now and seeing Henry. She literally had not been anywhere since the hearing except in the mansion and she had no idea when or if she would ever show her face in this town again. It wasn’t the first time she had thought about leaving Storybrooke entirely.   
She could do it. She could leave and build a life somewhere where no one knew her or knew her past. But to do so would mean leaving Henry behind and she wasn’t sure she could do that even if she had been exiled from his life.   
The doorbell rang as she finished up and this time she was confused. Surely Snow wouldn’t be coming back on the same day. And she wouldn’t be using the front door. She cautiously went out to the foyer and up to the door. She stood there as the bell rang again. Opening the door, she immediately took a step back.  
“What are you doing here?” she asked.   
“I came to talk,” Gold said. “May I come in?”  
“We have nothing to talk about.”  
“I don’t imagine you get much company nowadays Regina, perhaps it will do you good to have a familiar face to talk to.”  
“I am fairly certain if I needed one, yours would be the last familiar face I would want to see.”  
“Regina, let me in. We need to talk.”  
The last thing she wanted to do was have Gold in her home. She knew she couldn’t trust him yet she stepped aside and let him in. She didn’t move farther into her house, just stood there with her arms crossed. “What do you want?”  
“The same thing you want – the pirate gone.”  
“Why should I care about the pirate, or your feud with him?”  
“Come now; let’s not pretend that he didn’t play a major role in your downfall. I am merely offering you a chance to get even.”  
“The last time you offered me the chance to get even, well let’s say the result wasn’t all it cracked up to be. Now if that is all you came to peddle, I suggest you leave me alone like everyone else in this town.”  
She moved to the door to open it for him.  
“And what if in getting your revenge against Hook, it got you your son back. Not just your son, but Emma?”  
She turned and looked at him, “My only interest is in my son.”  
“If you say so dearie.”  
“What is it that you want from me because let’s not pretend you give a damn about me. You are here for your own reasons, so just say whatever it is you are going to say and then leave.”  
“I have made no secret about wanting the pirate removed from this life. And let’s face it, if he was, the sheriff would come looking for me first. And probably you second. But what I offer is a chance to bring him down in such a way that he will lose what he covets the most – Emma.”  
“And how would you propose to do that?”  
“Easily,” he said gesturing with his hand, using magic to make a gun appear. She recognized the model – it was the same as the one she owned. Did Gold know she had a gun like that? He held it in the palm of his hand stretched out to her.  
“What is that for?”  
“To frame the pirate for your death,” he said smiling.


	23. Chapter 23

In the present  
Emma had been watching as Regina slept for a couple of hours now, although she didn’t know why. It wasn’t like Regina was going to just wake up, but she was concerned about the timing of when she went forward in the future. She remembered how horrified her future self was when she learned Regina hadn’t died immediately after being shot in the head.  
Why did Regina have to make such rash decisions?  
Of course the same could be said about her, and Regina had even lectured her about not considering consequences. But Regina didn’t consider them either it would seem. What would happen if she timed this wrong? Did Regina even think about that? Magic comes with a price, so what price would she have to pay now?  
She yawned for the fourth time in the last 20 minutes. She had been sitting in the chair at Regina’s vanity and it wasn’t comfortable. Henry had gone off to bed more than an hour ago and Emma had promised she would keep an eye on Regina. She wasn’t sure she could actually do that though.  
Maybe if she laid on the floor for a bit and took a nap. The floor didn’t seem very enticing so she had spent 10 minutes debating in her head before she got up and lay down on the bed next to Regina.  
At first she lay there on her back looking at the ceiling, but eventually she moved on to her side facing Regina. She stared at the older woman thinking about how crazy this had all become. For a little while she had actually believed her future self – believed that maybe she and Regina did end up together. Married to Regina, she could scarcely even imagine how that would work out.  
They had been at odds most of the time they knew each other. It seemed the only thing could agree on was wanting the best for Henry.  
It was gratifying to see how Regina had changed in the time they had known each other. She honestly felt like Regina wanted to be a good person all the time, but she had no one but Henry to believe her. Emma believed in her as well, and maybe even Snow, but Emma wasn’t sure Regina saw that.  
Her eyes started to close again. It was just going to be a little nap.  
…  
In the future  
Regina waited on her couch – the gun sitting in front of her on the coffee table. Gold had left long ago after pitching his plan. Regina had told him that she would consider it. In no way was she going to consider it because it was a stupid plan. What made it worse was that Gold actually looked at her like he thought she would go along with it. Did he really think that she had fallen so low that she would agree to such an offer from him?  
His plan involved faking her death and blaming the pirate. Gold assured her that with their magic combined not only could they pull it off but it would show Emma and the rest of the town that Hook hadn’t really changed.  
She asked him how exactly that helped her get Henry back if she was supposed to be dead. Even if she had bought the plan up to the point, what he said next was enough for her to mentally at least roll her eyes at him. He said that he could convince Henry that she would never let anyone get that close to her with a mere mortal weapon like a gun and that she must have employed magic to protect herself and if that were the case she could still be magically alive even if she appeared dead. He made it sound like this was plausible and that Gold even would make a show of “resurrecting” her and once alive she would have Henry again because people would feel bad that she was killed and Emma would back off the whole sole custody issue. Eventually, he said even Emma would come around.  
Regina was not sure Gold actually knew she and Emma had slept together or if he was making inferences from something else. She supposed it didn’t matter. She would rather die and than get involved in another of Gold’s schemes.  
That was why she was sitting there waiting.  
Eventually there was a knock at the door and she got up to answer it.  
“What do you want?” Hook said as she opened the door.  
She moved out of the way, “Come in. Like I said I have information for you.”  
She had made the decision to call Hook not long after Gold left. She had no love for the pirate that was for sure, but she also wasn’t going to let Gold continue his vendetta. As long as it was directed at Hook, Henry could get caught in the crossfire and she couldn’t allow that to happen.  
She led him to the main room where she had been sitting.  
“Did you invite me here to shoot me?” he asked taking note of the gun.  
“No, it’s not even loaded,” she said. “That was a gift from Gold.” She proceeded to tell him about Gold’s visit. Hook didn’t say anything as she told him. When she was finished, he picked up the gun, “So he believes you were willing to go through with this?” he said examining the gun.  
“I don’t know. I don’t really care. I just felt you should know.”  
He nodded, “Thank you. Um … since I am here, there were some books that Henry wanted. Up in his room.”  
She didn’t want to tell him no and definitely didn’t want to let on that Henry was going to be there on his own the next day. “What books are they, I will go get them.”  
“I don’t really remember what they were called. Maybe if I saw them I would remember.”  
“This way,” she said and she went up the stairs with him following. She paused outside of the door.  
“Do you want me to go look on my own?” he said when she continued to stand there.  
“No,” she said opening the door and walking in. She was immediately confronted with the emotions of the loss of her son as she saw his things. She pointed at the bookshelf, and Hook headed that direction while she went closer to the bed.  
She picked up the framed photo of the two of them that had been on the bedside table. She let her fingers slide down the glass. He was just a little kid in the photo, his eyes full of love for her. She placed the photo back on the stand and turned, “Did you find …”  
She heard what sounded like an explosion as something hard slammed into the side of her head.  
Her mind tried to process something, anything. She was on the floor, and she felt something or she thought she did as a hammering pain invaded her head. She couldn’t hear anything, but her eyes saw something – boots walking past her field of vision. Breathe she thought I can breathe, why can’t I move? She thought she was trying to move but nothing happened.  
…  
In the present  
Emma jolted awake not really sure why she did but her eyes immediately went to Regina who was still lying there, but now her eyes were open.  
“Regina?”  
No reaction.  
“Regina,” she said again shaking her hard. “Regina.”  
The brunette continued to stare, making no other signs that she was awake. Something was wrong, of that Emma was sure. She tried shaking her again, harder this time and called out her name again.  
“Fuck,” Emma said, checking the time on her phone. She had been asleep longer than she had meant to but Regina shouldn’t be awake yet. In fact she had just over two hours left before she was supposed to wake up. She felt a terror well up inside her.  
Regina had miscalculated her jump forward.  
…

Future Emma left Hook’s boat secure in the idea that her plan would work. She was walking down the dock when she felt a pain in her arm. She grabbed the spot on her left forearm where it hurt. These little jabs of pain had started the day before. She knew what it meant – her time in this time was growing short. Time would eventually catch up to her and wrench her forward to where she was supposed to be, but in order to make it the future she wanted it to be, she still had work to do.  
Now that she had dealt with Hook, she needed to go back and check on Regina. She hadn’t heard from the other woman which was not a good sign. It meant Regina probably didn’t believe her about the ring and worse could be doubting all of it. She needed Regina to believe because her younger self didn’t.  
She didn’t waste any time so she used her magic to first change clothes into something more casual and then transported into Regina’s home. She appeared in the home office knowing if Henry was up at this early hour he wouldn’t be in there. She carefully made her way up to Regina’s room. Maybe she could charm Regina into a good morning.  
She barely knocked before entering, stopping immediately as she saw the other Emma on the bed trying to wake Regina.  
“What’s going on here?” she said quickly moving over to the bed. She saw Regina’s eyes were open but she wasn’t moving and knew there was something wrong. Emma scrambled off the bed and blocked her way.  
“Out of my way,”  
“No, you aren’t going anywhere near her.”  
“What’s wrong with her?” future Emma asked, the emotions in that one question were as raw as the ones younger Emma was feeling.  
“I don’t know for sure, but this is your fault and you aren’t going to touch her.”  
“Out of my way,” future Emma said again, trying to move around her, but Emma grabbed her and pushed her back against the wall by the door.  
“You want to know what’s wrong with her? She took one of those damn astral projection potions in order to move forward in time and discover whether you are a lying piece of shit or not. She went forward to see what kind of danger she was in, but she must not have done it right.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Look at her,” Emma said, pointing back to Regina. “Do you think that’s normal? What do you think happened to her in the future while she was inside her future self’s brain?”  
“No,” future Emma said trying to again move forward but Emma slammed her back against the wall.  
…

In the future  
Regina had given up on moving. It was useless. Her mind was already starting to slip away from her; she could feel it. She tried to think of simple things, but found she couldn’t even recall how she got there or why she was on the floor. She had tried counting earlier, but couldn’t get past the number 8. There was something wrong with her.  
She was dying, she thought.  
It was a curious thought and one which her mind wouldn’t let her fully process.  
Henry, she thought. Henry was supposed to come over. She was supposed to see her son. Henry, she had to get up for Henry. She tried to move again and then remembered that she couldn’t.  
Her mind went into a loop where it would think of Henry and then she would try to move because Henry was supposed to come over. It ended the same way with her remembering she couldn’t move, but then her mind would think of Henry again and the loop would restart. She wasn’t sure how long it went on before her mind stopped it.  
Another name came into her mind – Emma.

In the present  
“Emma.”  
Younger Emma turned and let go of her future self when she heard the whisper of her name. Future Emma pushed past her and made it to the bed, sitting on the edge and taking Regina’s hand in hers.  
“Regina, I am here,” Future Emma said brushing the side of her cheek with the outside of her hand. “I am here, wake up.”  
Emma grabbed her from behind and pulled her from the bed and onto the floor. “I said stay away from her,” she said standing above her.  
Future Emma scrambled to her feet. “This isn’t my fault. This is your fault. You can’t even see what is in front of you. Your happiness is right there in that bed, but you think you know every thing. I’ve got news for you; you don’t half of what you think you know. I will not lose her again.”  
“Hey …”  
They both turned to see Henry standing in the doorway. Younger Emma moved to him, “Henry, I need you to go back to your room.”  
“What’s going on? Is mom ok?” he asked trying to look around her to see Regina. “Who is that and why does she look like you?”  
“Henry, I need you to get back to your room. I will explain everything, I promise, but for now just go please.”  
He didn’t want to go, but he saw the seriousness in Emma’s eyes and nodded before turning and walking away. She shut the door and turned to see her future self standing next to the bed looking down at Regina.  
“How much time does she have left?”  
“I don’t know, less than two hours,”   
“I am going to have to pull her from it,” future Emma said.  
“Pull her from it? Is that even possible?”  
“Yes, with powerful enough magic,” future Emma said. She waved her hand and from the angle Emma couldn’t see what she was now holding. She moved closer and then rushed forward taking her future self’s wrist and pulling out away from her body and away from Regina. But as soon as she saw it full on, she let go of the wrist.  
She looked at her future self unable to say anything as she backed up a couple of steps.  
“It’s not possible,” she said finally.  
Future Emma looked down at what she held in her hand.   
“Like I said you don’t know half of what you think you do,” she said. “You have no idea what they did to Regina. I tried to do this simply without you finding out just how badly you messed things up, but I see we are beyond that now.”  
Present day Emma looked at the object again. She knew exactly what it was – had seen the curvy dagger before. Except when she had seen it, it had said Rumpelstiltskin. Now there were only four letters on it – Emma.


	24. Chapter 24

“What have you done?” present Emma asked.  
“I did what I had to do to get back to her,” future Emma said looking at Regina. “Now maybe it’s best if you leave. I need to see if I can help her.”  
Emma took a step toward her, “I am not leaving and I am sure as hell not going to let you use dark magic on her.”  
Future Emma glared at her, “I am not going to leave her lying like this. We have no idea what is wrong with her, how long it will last or anything else. How could you be so stupid as to let her try this?”  
“Hey, she wanted to do this because like me she doesn’t trust you, and apparently for good reason. You’ve been lying to us from the moment you got here,” Emma shot back at her. “Now you step away from her because I swear I don’t care what powers you have I will …”  
Future Emma waved her hand and watched as her counterpart disappeared. She would deal with her later. Right now she needed to figure out how to help Regina. She had been a little overconfident in saying she could pull Regina out of it. The truth was this magic was still new to her and she had no idea what she could or couldn’t do.   
The only thing she knew was she couldn’t wait the two hours for Regina to wake up on her own.  
She was too afraid Regina wouldn’t wake up all.  
….

Emma nearly stumbled forward as she appeared in her own apartment. It took a moment to realize what happened, but once she did she was headed for the door.   
“Fucking bitch,” she said as she barreled through it. She was done with this. She didn’t care if it was her future self or not, she was ready to end this once and for all – even if it meant taking on the Dark One.

…  
In the future  
She thought maybe her hearing was returning, but she couldn’t be sure as it was if she was hearing voices underwater. Maybe it’s all in my mind, Regina thought.   
She didn’t know what was happening, and no longer remembered why she was lying on the floor.   
Occasionally something would appear in her line of sight, but she had trouble knowing what they were. Her mind told her she knew, but it couldn’t pull a word for it out of her brain. It was frustrating her.  
Again one of them came into her field of vision. She tried to concentrate. What was it?  
Shoes.  
The word finally came to her. She was seeing shoes.   
Did that mean someone was there with her? Could someone help her? She didn’t even know why she needed help only that it seemed right that she did need help. More shoes came into her vision. These were different than the others.  
More than one kind of shoe, she thought. But she couldn’t get her brain to comprehend what that meant.   
She was getting tired, tired of trying to think.  
Maybe it would be ok if I just slept, she thought, but she couldn’t seem to get her eyes to close. She thought she was telling them to close but they remained open.   
That is when she felt it – a pain like no other. It felt like someone had peeled back a layer of her skin, only to burn the layer underneath. She wanted to run from it, to cry out, to do anything other than what she was doing which was just feeling it.   
She screamed inside her mind for it to stop.

….  
In the present  
Regina cried out in pain and her body shook like she was having a seizure. Emma immediately panicked, not knowing what to do. She looked from Regina to the dagger in her hand.   
She wanted to use the magic to help pull Regina back from wherever she was, but she was afraid of it. This magic had felt wrong since the moment she claimed the dagger. She tried to think of what Regina would do, and she knew that Regina wouldn’t be freaking out because Regina understood magic in a way Emma never did.   
Emma also knew she couldn’t sit back and do nothing.   
She placed the dagger on Regina midsection and put Regina’s hand on the hilt, covering it with her own. She closed her eyes concentrating on how much she loved this woman in the bed and how much she needed Regina to be ok. She felt the magic flowing through every cell of her body – unlike her natural magic this magic felt like an infection that covered each of those cells in a black marble. It felt heavy, it felt like it would consume her and drag her down but she kept her mind and more importantly her heart focused on Regina in order to combat it.   
She couldn’t let it end like this, not after all she had done.  
Concentrating, she reached out not for Regina’s mind because it wasn’t really her mind that had traveled into the future – she reached for her soul.   
It took her longer than she hoped and she felt like the magic she was expending was going to tear her in two. Once she found Regina’s soul she grabbed a hold of it and pulled, but it felt like it was stuck. She pulled again – but nothing.  
No, her mind panicked, she was too late.   
She poured all her magic –her natural magic and the power of the Dark One – and she pulled hard on Regina’s soul.  
A burst of magic knocked Emma from the bed and onto the floor.  
It was powerful enough that she was dazed for several moments. She looked up at the bed where Regina was now sitting up seeming to be as dazed as she was. Emma scrambled over to her and grabbed her face with her two hands, staring into her eyes.   
“Talk to me. Say something please.”  
Regina’s eyes were glassy but they started to focus.  
“Please baby, tell me you are ok.”  
“Emma?”   
Emma smiled and kissed her and kept kissing her.   
“Miss Swan!” Regina said pulling away and then realizing which Emma was with her. “Where is Miss Swan?”  
“I don’t know. I don’t care. All that matters is that you are safe. Don’t ever scare me like that again,” she said kissing her once more.   
Again Regina pulled away from her, this time getting off the bed entirely but she moved too quickly. She would have fallen to the floor if it weren’t for Emma catching her and then leading her back to the bed.  
“Just take it easy,” Emma said. “Hold on I will go get you something to drink. Stay there.”  
Regina was sitting up in bed but she closed her eyes – as she did the sensation of being trapped and unable to move hit her and her eyes flew back open and she instinctually moved just to make sure she could.  
Her hand touched something on the bed and she looked down at it seeing the Dark One’s dagger lying there next her. She was about to pick it up as she noticed the writing on it.  
“Mom?” Henry was in the doorway and approached her. “What’s going on? Are you alright?”  
“Yes, I am ok,” she said sliding a pillow over the dagger.  
“I heard arguing a little while ago and came in here and Emma was here along with another woman who looked just like her. Emma made me leave, but I was worried about you because you were lying here not moving with your eyes open. Who was that other woman, I saw her go downstairs and where is Emma?”  
“I don’t know where Emma is,” Regina said. “As for the other woman, she is Emma. It’s difficult to explain, but she is from the future and she came back here to help straighten a few things out. She’s here to help. I think.”  
“Emma didn’t seem to think so.”  
“I know,” Regina said and she moved to hug Henry. “But we will figure it all out.”  
Emma came back into the room holding a bottle of water. She saw Regina hugging Henry and she a sad smile crept onto her face as she thought about all she was in danger of losing.   
“Hey kid,”   
Henry turned and stared at her. “Are you really from the future?”  
“I am,” she smiled.  
“That’s cool. What am I like in the future?”  
“You are a 210 pound linebacker for the high school football team.”  
“What?” Regina and Henry asked at the same time.  
“Just kidding,” Emma said. “Can you give your mom and me some private time, I need to talk some things over with her?”  
Henry looked at Regina to see if that is what she wanted him to do, she nodded and he gave her another hug before leaving.   
Emma closed the door behind her and then handed Regina her water. Regina took a drink while Emma sat down on the edge of the bed.   
“We do have a lot to talk about,” Regina said pulling out the dagger. “Starting with this.”  
“I can explain, I promise, but right now I want to make sure you are ok,” she said, touching Regina’s leg. “What happened? Why did you take that potion?”  
“I had to know. I am tired of being in the dark here. And this dagger tells me I have been rather naïve about this whole thing.”  
“Not naïve; I didn’t want it to get this far. When I came back here I honestly thought it would be simpler than this. I only wanted to fix things.”  
“Emma you are the Dark One. How does that happen?”  
“It happens because of you. It happened because I had to save you. As long as you are safe, I am not going to apologize to you or anyone else for it. You were there weren’t you, in the future, you know what those bastards did to you right?”  
Regina closed her eyes and thought back to what she experienced. A shudder ran through her body as she again felt the sensation that she was trapped. For a moment her hearing stopped once more and she couldn’t get her mind to tell her limbs to move.  
“Regina!” Emma said shaking her out of her stupor. Emma’s eyes spoke volumes of her concern for Regina right then as the brunette gasped for breaths she thought she had been losing. “What’s wrong?”  
“I was … I was shot.”  
“I know,” Emma said. “You shouldn’t have had to witness that.”  
“You don’t understand, I was shot, but the gun it didn’t have any bullets in it. I checked and it was empty.”  
Emma nodded. “You were set up.”  
Regina had a thoughtful look on her face. “Gold,” she said finally. “He actually gave me the gun that killed me. He was working with Hook to kill me. But why? At that point I was certainly no threat to him.”  
“It wasn’t about you being a threat?”  
“Then what was it about?”

…

Present Emma entered the mansion and went up the stairs, stopping at Henry’s room when she saw the door was open. She noticed the door to Regina’s room was shut.  
“Mom’s in there with you, future you I guess.”  
“Henry, I need you to go downstairs and get into my car.”  
“Why?”  
“Because as long as she is in this house, I will not have you here.”  
“But mom says she is here to help.”  
“Just do as I say,” Emma said and she moved toward Regina’s door. She put her ear to the door to see if she could hear anything. The voices were too muffled for her to make out anything clearly. She pulled her gun out and opened the door, immediately pointing it at her future self. “Get away from her.”  
“Don’t be ridiculous,” future Emma said.  
“I said get away from her.”  
Future Emma put her hands up in a mocking fashion and backed away from the bed.   
“Regina,” present Emma said. “Come toward the door, we are getting out of here.”  
Regina slowly got off the bed on the opposite side from future Emma. “Maybe we should all calm down,” she said. “Miss Swan, put the gun down.”  
“No,” Emma said. “She’s the Dark One.”  
“I know,” Regina said showing that she had the dagger in her hand. “In fact she was about to explain what exactly is going on here.”  
“So you can hear more of her lies, I don’t think so. That dagger is all the proof you need to know that she has been scheming since she got here. Regina, let’s get out of here. I already told Henry to get in the car.”  
“Wait,” Regina said. “I want to hear her out.”  
“Why?”  
“Because I was shot and killed and something else …,” she trailed off, again the feeling of being on that floor hit her. Except this time she thought about the excruciating pain that she had felt although couldn’t react to it. She felt dizzy and reached out to the bed as the dagger slipped from her hand.   
Both Emmas saw Regina suddenly stare off into space before the dagger fell and she began move toward the bed. Future Emma took a step toward the bed. “Don’t,” present Emma said keeping the gun pointed at her as she slowly moved toward Regina. “Regina, what’s wrong?”  
Regina didn’t answer her. She sunk to her knees next to the bed, gripping her midsection as a phantom pain shot through her body.   
“What’s wrong with her?” Emma asked her future self.   
“I don’t,” she said, moving toward Regina. Let her younger self shoot her, she didn’t care; she needed to get to Regina.   
Present Emma looked from Regina to her counterpart and back again, before lowering her weapon and holstering it. She knelt next to Regina, “Regina, what’s wrong?”  
“Hurts,” Regina said through clenched teeth.  
“What hurts? What is happening?”   
But the pain again overwhelmed her to the point she couldn’t answer. Emma helped her up and on to the bed. “Don’t leave me,” she said gripping Emma’s hand.   
“I’m not,” Emma said keeping a hold of Regina’s hand. Regina squeezed it hard as she felt pain again, this time enough pain that she passed out.   
“Regina,” Emma said shaking her, but Regina was completely out. She was breathing evenly though much to Emma’s relief. She was so focused on Regina she failed to notice her future self until she was already rising from picking up the dagger.   
“What are you going to do now?” younger Emma asked, knowing there was no way she could pull her gun out in time if future Emma chose to do something.  
“Why do you have this hatred toward me?”  
“I don’t know, maybe because you have lied repeatedly, oh and there is the fact that you became the Dark One.”  
“I have lied a little, but not about anything important.”  
“Really? How about the lie of you and Regina being married.”  
“That isn’t a lie. She is my wife. Just because you are refusing to see that doesn’t make it any less real.”  
“You are completely delusional,” Emma said. “You honestly believe that you are married to her and have some life with her. But you don’t. You just went crazy when she was murdered. You’ve made up this entire other life in your mind and you believe it to be real. Why don’t you tell me what really happens in the future? Why don’t you tell me about how you became the Dark One to come back here and try to manufacture this fantasy world of yours into something real?”  
“You think I am the future Emma from this timeline?” she asked.   
“Who else could you be?”  
“I am the Emma whose life got ripped away from her because of your actions,” she shot back. “Maybe it’s time you see what I lost.”  
She held the dagger out in front of her and Emma was right she couldn’t move fast enough. She was suddenly frozen there and future Emma approached her and placed a hand on her forehead.   
“I hope this works.”  
Images suddenly flashed through Emma’s mind. It wasn’t like astral projection, it was more like watching television on fast forward with no sounds. She saw Regina and her kissing, holding hands, lying together on the couch. More images came – a wedding, Henry looking older, Regina pregnant, holding Regina’s hand as she gave birth.   
Then there was the baby. She was holding the child in her arm, then she was sitting on the floor as Regina held her arms as she attempted to take her own steps toward Emma.  
Alex.   
The name was suddenly in her mind. Alexandra.   
The images stopped and Emma could move once more.   
“Did it work?” future Emma asked, taking a seat at the foot of the bed. She looked tired all of a sudden and she was rubbing her forearm.   
“What did you do to me?” Emma asked.  
“I tried to show you some of my memories. Did it work?”  
Emma thought of the little girl again. Could that be her daughter? She shook her head.   
“How do I know any of that is real? You are the Dark One, you could have created those images.”  
Future Emma laughed, “You really are unbelievable. You know what, you don’t deserve my future.” She stood and began to walk to the door.  
“Where are you going?”  
“To go lie down somewhere,” she said, looking back at Regina. “Take care of her.”  
“Take care of her? Wait, I don’t even know what is wrong with her.”  
“I don’t either,” future Emma said. “I thought maybe I got to her in time, but maybe I didn’t.”  
“Got to her in time for what? What happened to her in the future? She said something else happened. What was it?”  
Future Emma sighed as she leaned against the door frame.   
“She didn’t die immediately after being shot. That was intentional. The bullets – there was a spell on them to keep her alive just long enough for them to get what they came for.”  
“Who are they and what did they want?”  
“Even if I told you who, you clearly wouldn’t believe me. As for what they wanted, well, our magic it doesn’t come from our physical bodies that is why it’s connected to our emotions. It’s more than the mind or heart. It comes from our souls. They ripped hers from her before she died.”  
Present Emma looked at Regina trying to contemplate what that meant. The sound of it was horrific to her.   
“Just tell me why?” Emma asked, her eyes not leaving Regina’s sleeping form. “Why would someone take her soul?”


	25. Chapter 25

Future Emma looked at her younger self. She remembered feeling like going back in time would be easy – that she would be in and out and her life would go on as it had. What a fool she had been. She had forgotten that at times – many times – she could be stubborn. She had grown up alone, learning not to rely on others. That was until she came to Storybrooke.   
And it took a while, but she learned to be part of a community, part of a family and when she and Regina finally got together she learned how to give herself to another person entirely.   
This Emma she was looking at now hadn’t experienced that. This Emma didn’t know that the woman in the bed next to her would be everything she ever needed or wanted.   
She could feel it all slipping away. She thought of Alex and how her little girl absolutely adored Regina and worshiped her older brother Henry. She was pretty certain the girl was going to grow up without fear because she already believed that if Henry could do something, so could she.   
She just wanted to be able hold Alex in her arms once more, brush the top of Henry’s head with her hand and wake up to Regina.  
She was so tired and she began to wonder if perhaps this was no longer her fight. She had come back to make younger Emma fix her mistake, and maybe that was how it needed to be. As much as she hated to do it, she was going to have learn a lesson she had already learned once – relying on someone else.   
“Life,” she finally said. “You take a person’s soul because the magic contained in it is literally life. It’s the age old mystery. If you have a soul what becomes of it when you die – heaven, hell or does the energy just go some place, become something different. And if it can become something different, does that mean that energy can be shaped and molded? So you kill the Evil Queen because her soul is not just energy, it encompasses her magic, a very powerful magic. You kill her because there is no one to care if she lives or dies except a boy.”  
“You need to give me more,” Emma said. “I need answers.”  
“That’s the problem,” future Emma said. “You want answers, but you don’t trust me to give them to you. I wanted answers too when I woke up in that other timeline. I wasn’t getting them in Storybrooke where people had merely accepted Regina’s death as a suicide and I was no longer welcomed with open arms. I returned to Boston in despair and that is when I found this.”  
She pulled a flash drive from her pants pocket and tossed it to Emma.  
“If you really want answers, they are in there. It’s not anything you are going to want to hear, but if you want to change your fate, start with that,” she said, turning away before stopping. Regina usually keeps her laptop in her home office. The password is Snow White. Ironic, I know.”  
She left the room and Emma fingered the flash drive wondering what it could possibly contain. She made Regina more comfortable in bed and then walked downstairs. She had no idea where her counterpart went but found Henry sitting in the foyer.   
“She left,” he said. “She wasn’t looking very good.”  
“She used magic to help your mom and I think it weakened her.”  
“Is mom alright?”  
“She’s sleeping again,” Emma said, not sure how to even begin to explain this to Henry. “Don’t worry; I am not going to let anything happen to your mom.”  
“Are you going to tell me what is going on? Mom said that future you is here to help, but you don’t seem to agree.”  
Emma looked down at the flash drive in her hand. “I don’t know really know if she is here to help or what, but I do know she’s not going to do anything to harm your mom either. Look I know this is weird, weirder even than what we are used to dealing with, but this is all about keeping Regina safe. She might be in some danger from someone and my future self came back to warn us about it. We all just want to make sure she is safe, that is all.”  
“Who is she in danger from?”  
“I don’t know,” Emma shrugged. “But we’re putting the pieces together and when I know something more concrete we will know better how to deal with it. For now though we need to keep an eye on her, make sure she is ok and that no one does her harm. Do you think you can help me with that?”  
“I’ll do anything to keep her safe,” he said.  
“Good. I am going to use your mom’s office for a bit. Why don’t you go back upstairs and just check on her every once in a while. You don’t need to stay in there or anything, but if she wakes up come get me.”  
He nodded and she waited for him to get upstairs before she made sure the front door was locked. She wasn’t going to take any chances.   
She made her way into Regina’s office where her laptop was sitting out on the desk. She opened it up and waited for it boot up. Typing in Snow White she couldn’t help but smile as only Regina would choose that as a password because no one would ever guess she would use it. The woman was clever; she’d have to give her that.   
She opened the flash drive to find a series of what appeared to be video files. She clicked on the one that was dated the earliest and was surprised to find she was staring at herself talking on the screen. Realizing the computer was muted she turned up the volume and restarted it.

“Henry is still not talking to me. I tried to speak to him about this filing for emancipation thing but he wouldn’t even look at me. How can I make him understand how sorry I am for all of this? How do I make him see how much I regret my actions?” she said. “Maybe I can’t. Nothing short of bringing Regina back to life would work at this point I am guessing. And if I could bring her back I would but I can’t.”  
The Emma on the screen took a drink from a bottle of beer before continuing.  
“I got the lockbox from Regina’s closet opened up finally. Just like I thought there was a gun inside. It is the same kind of gun as mine and the same as the one which was used in her shooting. So why would she have two of the same guns – well she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t.”  
Emma laughed and took another drink. “There went my theory that Regina used a gun like mine to say she blamed me. Could I have more of an ego? I actually started to think that maybe she couldn’t stand living with out me. That is so stupid. It was always about Henry. She loved him so much. She loved him and I knew it and I took him away from her even though I knew she couldn’t live without him.”

The video stopped and Emma sat back in the chair considering it. Could that really be her from the other timeline? From the background she could see it was filmed at her apartment.   
She moved on to the next video file and clicked play.

“It happened today. Henry packed up his stuff and left. I wonder if I am still a mother if I don’t have a child.”

That was a short clip so Emma played the next one.

“I haven’t been sleeping very well Regina,” Emma said. “It’s not that I am not tired, I am, but I can’t seem to sleep the full night through. Sometime I wake up and I think I am going to see you there lying beside. You’ll look at me and you’ll smile and you will tell me that it was all a bad dream. And I’ll laugh it off because of course it was a bad dream because you are there beside me, alive and …”  
“I miss Henry. I guess I am getting a taste of what I did you,” she said running her fingers through her hair. “I keep thinking that I need to do something to fix this, something that will set it all right because this can’t be how my life ends up being. It can’t be. I went and visited your mausoleum the other night. It’s not like the sheriff is going to get caught for trespassing. I stood there staring at the wall for probably an hour or more thinking that it was stupid to be there because you aren’t there, not really.”  
“I told Killian that I needed some time to myself and he took off the next day in his boat. I don’t know where he was going and I don’t even care. I should have ended it with him a long time ago. I should have ended it when you and I made love because that is what it was. It wasn’t sex, we made love that night, but I got scared Regina. I was scared of what it meant because I had never connected with anyone like I did with you. If I hadn’t been such a coward and owned up to the fact that I fell for you long before I ever kissed you then I wouldn’t be in this mess. I would be waking up in bed beside you. I miss you Regina. Come back to me.”

Emma thought back to when she was in this Emma’s mind and she realized that this Emma had indeed loved Regina. But she was scared.   
She moved to the next clip.

“Hook came back the other day and walked into the sheriff’s office like nothing had happened between us. He asked me – practically begged me to come to the harbor with him for a surprise. I don’t know why I went – bored maybe, hard to say. It may have been the whiskey that he promised me. It seems like the only way I get a full night’s sleep nowadays is if I drink myself into a coma. I know it’s not good for me and I need to stop. I will stop. I can’t hope to get my life back in order and get Henry back if all I am doing is sulking around. Anyway, Hook’s big surprise was the Jolly Roger. I couldn’t believe it. There it was docked in the harbor – his ship. I asked him how and I almost dropped dead when he said Gold helped him get it back. He explained that Gold wanted to get Belle something special back in the Enchanted Forest somewhere so he helped Hook to get there and gave him the means to get his ship back as part of their deal. You would think Hook of all people wouldn’t make a deal with Gold, but his eyes were lit up like a kid at Christmas all because of that boat. He took the opportunity to remind me that he had given it up to help me, that and a couple of whiskeys and I was waking up in his bed. I left that morning before he woke and when he called me later I told him it was a mistake. He said I would change my mind and he could be patient. He’s going to have to be more than patient because I am done with that part of my life.”  
“I talked to my mom today. I know she had been worried about me but I told her that I not ok but I was going to be ok if that made any sense. I need to become the person I was before, someone Henry would be proud to call his mom.”

Emma played the clip back again. Hook and Gold – no way, she thought. Gold would have to be desperate to enlist Hook’s help. She could see Hook going for it though if it meant he got his ship back. He loved the Jolly Roger and she knew it hurt him to give it up.   
She didn’t give it too much thought as she was more concerned with studying herself. She hadn’t appeared to have been drinking based on the clip and she did seem to honestly want to start turning things around in her life in order to get Henry back. Clearly that never happened though.  
She moved on to the next file.

The Emma that came on the screen next looked pale and had dark circles under her eyes.   
“I don’t understand how this happened. I am always careful – well ever since Henry I have been careful. I thought when I took the home test that it was some sort of defective one or a mistake some how but Dr. Whale confirmed it this morning. I’m pregnant.”

Emma stopped the video. Her hand shook as she moved it back a few seconds. “I’m pregnant.” She paused again only to play it back again and again. Finally she let it run.

“I have to tell Hook. I haven’t been with anyone but him,” she exhaled deeply. “How do I tell people that I am pregnant? How do I tell Henry? He still isn’t talking to me. I don’t know, maybe this could be good thing. Henry will want to be a part of his sibling’s life, right? Maybe this could be a new beginning for us.”  
She put her face in the palm of her hands for a moment. “Pregnant. How did this happen?”

Once the video stopped Emma stood up from the desk. She didn’t want to watch anymore. She didn’t want to know. Pregnant with Hook’s child. She became pregnant with Hook’s baby. The other Emma was right, she had been extremely careful ever since having Henry. She had even considered getting a hysterectomy to ensure she didn’t get pregnant again. That Emma wasn’t exactly overjoyed with the prospect of being pregnant and Emma realized that if she was pregnant right now with Hook’s baby she wouldn’t be overjoyed either. Their relationship was still young as it was and she never even considered that it would lead to something like this.   
There were more video files left but she wasn’t sure she could watch them. Future Emma had warned that she wouldn’t want to hear and she knew she was right. But she also said this flash drive contained answers and as much as she feared what those answers might be she knew she had to keep watching.  
She played the next clip.

“Hey Regina,” Emma said. “I think it’s easier to pretend like I am talking to you rather than be that pathetic loser sitting alone in her apartment talking to herself. It makes me seem less crazy too. You know what I was thinking about earlier. I was thinking about that letter you were writing to me, the one you left unfinished in your desk. You know stopping like that mid-thought was more than a little cruel. It was like the series ending of Sopranos – who thinks something like that is a good idea? Anyway, I was thinking that it would have been nice if you had finished it and you know maybe you would have given it to me and whatever you were going to say, it would, well, it would have gotten my head out of my ass and we would have worked things out and you would forgive me for what I did and I would forgive you for rejecting me, which you had every right to do because I was being a bitch. There I can admit I was wrong. Bet that makes you feel happy, doesn’t it?”  
“Still, you would have forgiven me and then we would have dated and I would show you that I could treat you like you deserved to be treated. I would show you that I am not a total fuck up and that you could rely on me and I would always be there for you. Then you know our relationship would continue and get better and stronger and eventually we would decide to move into together – to your place because it’s bigger – and then one day I would surprise you by asking you to marry me. I would do it on some random day, like a Tuesday so you wouldn’t see it coming and you would say yes and then you and me and Henry we would have this life together and maybe sometime down the line we would decide we would want to have a child. We would discuss it and we would agree together because that is how it should be …”  
Emma trailed off and looked to her right side before turning back to the camera. “I told Hook. I had to. It’s his kid after all. Please don’t hate me for it Regina. This isn’t easy you know. I didn’t plan for this. I didn’t ask for this.”  
She paused again, looking away. “Hook was ecstatic when I told him. He lifted me up in the air and hugged me. He started talking about our family and … and he asked me to marry him. I told him now wasn’t the time to talk about marriage.”  
“Am I a bad person for not wanting to raise a child with him? Am I bad person for envisioning raising a child with you?”

Next video  
“I ran into Belle today. You are never going to guess this, but she is pregnant. Must be something in the water,” Emma said. “She was really happy and you know Belle, when she starts smiling you start smiling. She just has that infectious personality. I asked her if she and Gold had been planning to have a child. She said they had talked about it but Whale had told her that her chances of getting pregnant naturally were very slim. I guess she beat the odds. Anyway our kids will be born within weeks of each other so instant play dates.”

Emma shut the video off, again standing. Sometimes she thought better when she was moving around. An idea was planting itself in her mind and she hated herself for even thinking it.  
Future Emma’s words came back to her about why someone would take a person’s soul – because it is life.  
Her hands were both shaking now as she sat down and hit play on the next video.


	26. Chapter 26

Emma sat in silence staring at the camera for nearly a full minute before she began to speak.  
“This is going to sound crazy Regina, trust me, I know how it sounds, but it’s like sometimes during my day I get this strong feeling that you are there. There have been times I have stopped what I am doing to look around because I am sure I am going to see you. Last night I was at the station late and I felt and I got out of my chair and searched the place expecting to see you. Are you haunting me? Are you out there somewhere? Are you trying to communicate with me?”  
She sat back in her seat as if considering how ridiculous she sounded.  
“I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. Killian is coming with me although I am not sure why. It’s not even like I am having an ultrasound done. It’s still too early for that. He’s been hovering and it’s been pissing me off. Everything is about the baby and how we are going to share a life together and … I keep thinking how on earth I got into this mess. I should be happy to be having a baby, right?”

The next video  
“I asked Henry to come over so I could talk him, to tell him about the baby. He said he didn’t want to come over and I ended up telling him over the phone. There was just silence at first and then he was asking me questions about your death. He wanted to know about the gun that was used and when it happened exactly and a host of other things. He had gotten a copy of my report – dad must have given it to him – and he said it didn’t make any sense because he didn’t believe his mom would kill herself. I just let him talk. He wants someone to blame still and that is still me.”  
“The thing is, I know you didn’t kill yourself. I knew it that night somewhere in my head, but I still ruled it a suicide. After all if it was suicide then I could be to blame. I deserve the blame because it was my fault you were alone. Even if I hadn’t fucked up with you, you wouldn’t have been alone if I hadn’t taken Henry from you. I am sorry Regina, I am so sorry.”  
She broke down crying and the video turned off.

Present Emma was beginning to feel like her earlier assessment was right. This Emma had gone crazy. Her mistake was thinking this alternate Emma was the future Emma. Seeing these videos now made it clear to her how wrong she was – this wasn’t future Emma. That meant future Emma was telling the truth, that the visions she showed Emma were true. She really was married to Regina. They really were in love and had a child.   
But even if she accepted that future Emma was not lying, she couldn’t reconcile how she could become the Dark One.   
None of it made sense. And the answers which she said were in these videos were now answers to questions Emma had never even considered. If alternate Emma was living alone in an apartment in Boston, what happened to the child she was having with Killian? Emma knew that there was no way she would ever give up another child which meant there was only one more alternative and it wasn’t one she wanted to face. She wasn’t the one who was pregnant but she was literally watching herself and that scared her suddenly.  
She didn’t want this future.  
She needed a break so she made a few phone calls to make sure shifts were covered at work and then she went upstairs to check on Regina. She wasn’t surprised to see Henry sitting up in bed reading a book next to a still sleeping Regina.  
“She’s been asleep the whole time?” Emma asked.  
“Yes, but she moved around a little bit so I took that as a good sign.”  
“Good,” she said. “Take a break, go eat, I will watch her for a bit.”  
He got off the bed quick enough that Emma figured he was pretty hungry. She took his seat on the bed. She sat there looking around the room much like she did the night before.   
“You know you can wake up at anytime. Seriously, it would not be inconvenient to me at all,” Emma said to her before pausing.  
“I’ve been using your laptop downstairs to watch these videos and you can’t be angry at me for using your computer because well your wife gave me the password to get in it. Snow White. Clever.”  
She sighed wishing Regina would wake up even if it meant getting yelled at by her for using her computer or even being in her room.  
“These videos … they’re um … disturbing. You see they are from me, well alternate future me. Could this get any more Star Trekkie or maybe this is more like Doctor Who, I’m not sure. Anyway, she made mistakes, horrible mistakes and you got hurt. She said she was sorry and I believe her. I think maybe she took Henry from you because she wanted to hurt you but she never really thought about what that meant. I can understand because I don’t always think things through either.”  
“That’s the really scary part about this – that I can relate to her. I can see parts of me in her. Yet I can’t relate to the other Emma, the one who is married to you. From the moment she got here there has been something about her that has rubbed me the wrong way. Isn’t that messed up – that I relate better to an Emma that I am fairly certain is on the downward spiral of insanity? Sometimes in this video she’s talking to you and you are dead.”  
“But I think I figured it out – what my problem is with future Emma and it was actually remembering being in the alternate Emma’s mind that made me think of it. You see in that timeline you and her have sex, of course after an argument or during it; the point is as that Emma was yelling at you she was trying to get you to see that she didn’t want to be in this role where she felt like she had to fulfill some destiny of being the Savior. She wanted to make her own choices, be free and that struck a chord with you too because that is how you felt. You didn’t want to be seen as the Evil Queen, you just wanted to be you. And I totally get it from your standpoint and hers, and that is what got me thinking. My problem with the future Emma is that she came back here and started telling me about this role I had to fulfill – being your wife. I don’t like being told I have to be something. I too want to be free to make my own choices. I hope that makes sense to you.”  
“It does.”  
Emma watched as Regina opened her eyes. “Um, how long have you been awake?”  
“I think since the Doctor Who reference,” she said sitting up. “It seemed rude to interrupt.”  
“How are you feeling?”  
“In need of a shower,” she said getting out of bed.   
“Really. You need a shower and that’s it? Regina do you remember what happened?”  
“I do,” she said calmly. “I died.”  
“Yes, well sort of,”  
“Where is the other Emma?”  
“I don’t know. She said she needed to go lie down and rest or something. I think the magic she did tired her out.”  
“I need to speak to her,” Regina said. “Where is my phone?”  
“Whoa,” Emma said also standing up. “I think we need to talk about whatever the hell is going on first.”  
“Which is why I need to talk to her. I assume she knows whatever is that happened to me after I got shot. I was still alive there on the floor of Henry’s bedroom but I wasn’t alone in the room.”  
“I know, which is why you shouldn’t have taken that potion. You miscalculated and you were still in your future self when it happened. What if you hadn’t woken up? What is she hadn’t been here to help you? And then whatever that was that happened in here before you passed out. What was that anyway?”  
“I don’t know, some sort of repercussion of what happened in the future, or maybe a side effect of whatever your future self did. I don’t know which is why I need to speak to her. She must have some idea of what is going on.”  
“Do you know who shot you?” Emma asked suddenly.  
“She didn’t tell you?”  
Emma shook her head no, “she said I wouldn’t believe her. But if you tell me I would believe you.”  
“Why would you believe me over her?”  
“Because number one, I can tell when you are lying usually, and number two, I can’t tell when she is. I can’t because we human beings tell ourselves lies all the time. It’s easy and sometimes those lies become the truth, at least to ourselves. I don’t know if she is lying because whether I want to accept it or not, she is me.”  
Regina considered it.   
“It was Hook. He shot me. But I don’t know what happened afterward, all I know is it hurt unlike anything I have ever felt before and I would do anything not to feel it again.”  
Emma turned away from her.  
“I’m sorry,” Regina said after a moment. “You asked me for the truth.”  
Emma looked back at her. “I believe you.”  
“You do?”  
“I told you, I know when you are lying.”  
“Still, I am sorry. I don’t even know why he did it. That is why I need to talk to you, other you.”  
“I might know why he did it.”  
“Why?”  
“She um said that they and I am guessing they are Gold and Killian, that they ripped out your soul.”  
Regina sat back down on the bed.  
“She’s sure about that?”  
“She seemed sure. Do you know why they would to that?”  
Regina shrugged, “It’s hard to say. The soul is a powerful thing and for someone like me, and even you, it’s even more so because it’s essentially the embodiment of our magic. If Gold did this, he must have had a specific purpose in mind, something he needed a lot of magic to do. We’re talking on par with, well with the curse I cast. It’s not light magic, it’s the darkest of the dark.”  
Emma closed her eyes a moment. She didn’t want to ask but she knew she had to.  
“Could it be used to create life, like a baby?”  
Regina gave her a curious look. “Not on its own no, but yes with other components it could be used in that fashion although it would be a corrupted life. Gold would know this so I doubt he would waste it in such a way.”  
“How so?”  
“Astral projection only works if you are moving forward or backward to yourself. This is because you are for lack of a better way to describe it, hitch hiking your soul in another vessel. The only reason it works is because your soul recognizes its own soul in that vessel and so can merge with it temporarily. Now if Gold did indeed take my soul which I am willing to believe having now experienced it, he could create a life, but that life would never be a whole self-contained life as you would think of your own life because it would have a remnant of that person’s soul that could never really be erased. A better example and forgive me for mentioning this, but what happened with Neal when he absorbed his father. You saw what it did to him. Two souls can’t inhabit the same body something has to give. Why would you think he would use it in that way? Did your future self tell you something about this?”  
“I think there is something you need to watch,” Emma said.   
….

Emma stood behind Regina while she watched the videos. The brunette had insisted on checking on Henry first and assuring him that she was fine. She then asked Emma to take Henry to her parents for the rest of the day and night, which he argued against but Regina cut that argument short, and Emma ended up doing it. While she was gone Regina showered and changed clothes by the time Emma returned.  
She was just now watching the last video that Emma had watched.  
“And you haven’t watched the rest of them yet.”  
“No. To be honest I don’t know that I want to either. Just tell me the truth, do you think Gold took your soul to create a baby for Belle?”  
“No, I don’t see it. There are other ways he could try before doing something that desperate. Like I said he knows if he did he would be risking creating something that would never fully be its own life and given how he feels about me I don’t think he would want even a bit of my soul hanging out in his child. The other issue is that a soul isn’t something you can put in a cardboard box or in the freezer to keep fresh. It would have to be used quickly unless Gold has discovered some way to store a soul for safe keeping. The pregnancies happened too far from my death. I would guess the shelf life on one is no more than a couple of days. But that’s not what you are really wanting to know, is it? You are wanting to know how you got pregnant.”   
Regina turned in her chair to look at her.  
“Now that you have explained it to me about your soul being in the person, then doesn’t it make sense that maybe my theory is right. Come on, she believes she has been sensing you being around her. Maybe she is because you are.”  
“I admit that did seem odd, but you said yourself you thought she was going crazy.”  
“You don’t understand. I wouldn’t just get pregnant. I am careful. I have been careful since the day I gave Henry up. I didn’t want any more children because I didn’t want to have to face being put in a position ever again where I might give a child up. Even now, my life is as secure as it has ever been, and I still wouldn’t think having a child right now would be a good idea. Something had to happen, I know it.”  
“Then we should continue watching the videos and hope the answer lies within them.”  
“I don’t know that I am ready to do that yet. We already know her life ends up in a shit hole so I am not figuring this has a happy ending.”  
“Fair enough, but obviously felt like you and Belle were made pregnant through the use of my soul. You didn’t jump to that conclusion by watching these videos, so why don’t you tell me why you believe that.”  
“I asked future me why anyone would take a soul and she said like you that it’s powerful and yours would be powerful because of your magic. She said it’s life.”  
“She’s not incorrect, but can you tell me exactly what she said?”  
Emma thought about it a moment. “She said it was life and then some stuff about the question of where a soul goes when it dies and that if it’s energy can it be shaped to be something different.”  
Regina stood up and this time she was the one with the thoughtful look on her face while pacing.  
“Regina,” Emma said after the other woman simply stopped. Regina looked at her.  
“I think I can safety assure you that my soul isn’t hitchhiking in the form of a baby in the future,” she said.   
“Then where is it?”  
“I think we should keep watching the videos.”  
“Why? What do you know?”  
“I might not know anything.”  
“Your facial expression isn’t exactly saying that. In fact you look like you might know exactly what is going on.”  
“The videos,” Regina said. “We need to keep watching them.”  
She moved back to the computer but Emma grabbed her wrist before she could hit play. “What do you know?”  
“I don’t know anything, but I suspect something, something I won’t know for sure without more information.”  
“Tell me what you suspect.”  
“You aren’t going to like it.”  
“I don’t like any of this so far.”  
“I think Gold took my soul to use as a weapon of sorts. The reason I want to watch the videos is not because of your pregnancy or what happens with you and Hook. I want to watch you, or rather you in them. You said before that when you were in your future self’s mind that you thought she went crazy quickly after my death. These videos would seem to suggest she is in some sort of decline, but I don’t think that is out of some sense of grief.”  
Emma’s eyes got a little wide. “You said two souls can’t inhabit the same body.”  
“They can’t, something has to give, so the question is which one of us did because I suspect her mental decline is because she’s not alone. My soul is in her. She is sensing me because I am actually there.”  
“But why would he do that?”  
“Because you are the product of true love, the Savior. You are quite possibly the only person that could defeat Gold. He did this to destroy you from the inside.”  
“Say you are right, how does Killian fit into this? He would never …”  
“I don’t know what his role in this is. You know how Gold is, chances are the pirate never knew what he was agreeing to do.”


	27. Chapter 27

Regina hit play on the next video after Emma indicated that she was ready.

“Hey Regina,” Emma said. “I have to tell you this, you will love it. I was at the hospital and Whale was totally hitting on this nurse – I am guessing she must be new because what nurse hasn’t he hit on? Anyway she isn’t having any of it. I could tell from like down the hall that she wasn’t interested. This other nurse comes up to stand beside me while this was going on. And she is like, ‘This is the third time this week he has cornered her.’ And before I can say anything she is striding up the hall like she is going to bitch slap his ass, but instead she grabs the nurse and kisses her right there in the hall. Then she turns to Whale and says, ‘if you even think about getting off tonight to that visual I will use your own scalpel to neuter you.’ It was classic, I am telling you, you would have laughed. Well you probably wouldn’t have laughed but you would have done that knowing little smirk of yours. Frankly that smirk is more intimidating than you laughing or saying anything.”

The video ended and they started the next one.

“I was thinking about you again today. It was like before, like you were there in the room with me, except this time I was at the diner and I had just ordered my food and I had this overwhelming feeling like you were sitting there across the booth from me. I started to think about how you would have hated my choice in food – a cheeseburger and fries. You would have made some remark I am sure. I was staring so intently at the other side of the booth I could practically see you there. Of course I didn’t see you because you weren’t there. You weren’t there because you are dead. If you were there you would probably have berated me for not finding out what happened to you. It’s not that I don’t want to find whoever did this to you, but I don’t even know where to start. Every time I start to think about it all I can see is your dead body lying there. I keep thinking about what the coroner said about how you were alive for possibly hours after getting shot. I don’t even want to know what that must have been like for you. I think we all wish or believe that when it is our time to go that it will be fast like flicking off a light switch. But that’s not how it is. Here is the problem – who would you have let upstairs in Henry’s room with you? I have gone over it and over it and outside of Henry himself or maybe me, I don’t see you letting anyone up there. There were no signs of forcible entry anywhere in the house which means you either let your killer in or they got in by some means that leaves no trace. It doesn’t make any sense. You had cut yourself --- I had cut you off from everything so who would you trust enough to let inside your home?”

“Why did you let Hook in?” Emma asked as the screen went blank.  
Regina had to turn to look at her and explained how Gold had come to her and given her the gun and his plan to frame Hook. “I wasn’t interested in being a part of anymore of Gold’s schemes so I called Hook and asked him to come over. After I told him about Gold he said that Henry had wanted a couple of books from his room. I should have known it was a lie because I knew Henry was coming over so why would he ask. But I didn’t want to let anyone know Henry was coming over so I offered to get them for him but he said he couldn’t remember which ones and maybe seeing them would help. I escorted him up there and I was turned from him while looking at a photo of Henry and then he shot me.”  
“One thing I can agree with this Emma about is I don’t want to know what that must have been like for you.”  
Regina glanced down at the floor. “I am not even sure I could explain it. It’s probably best that I don’t dwell on it since the point is for it not to happen.”  
“It won’t happen again. I won’t let it. Besides I think at this point that we have changed that outcome significantly.”  
“Perhaps we have but I wouldn’t discount Gold.”  
She turned activated the next file.

“My mother,” Emma said pacing in front of the camera instead of sitting down. “You had my mother coming over and checking on you. Unbelievable. I get that she didn’t agree with me taking you to court but seriously how many times have you two tried to kill each other and she’s what baking you cookies to cheer you up?”  
Emma took a seat.   
“I started asking some questions of your neighbors to see if they saw anyone around your house in the days leading up to your shooting. I think they thought I was insane for asking since the whole town thinks you offed yourself – again I am sorry, but then I find out that Snow was there that day. I confronted her about it, not because I thought she killed you – well it was a passing thought – but I wanted to know why she was there at all. She admitted she was helping Henry to come see you and she was shocked to learn it was a suicide because she said you were happy when she left you, happy because you were going to see Henry. I didn’t tell her that I didn’t think you committed suicide. I figure it’s best if no one knows I was even looking into it. Maybe whoever did this to you will slip up but I am afraid I waited too long or that I missed something I should have caught because I was caught up in my emotions about it. I’m not saying I am going to give up or anything like that. I can’t give up. It’s the only way to show Henry that I am not the monster he thinks I am and it’s the only way for me to ever begin to forgive myself for what I did to you.”

The next video  
“Killian just left. He wants me to go out on the Jolly Roger with him this weekend. He thinks it will be good for us and good for the baby to get used to being on a boat. I didn’t commit to going with him which didn’t deter him from actually making it seem like it was a done deal. How do you tell the father of your unborn child that you have no desire to date him, nor do you want to raise a child with him? I know I can’t keep him out of the kid’s life so he’s going to have to be a part of mine whether I like it or not,” Emma sighed. “Do you ever wonder if we could have been part of each other’s lives if it weren’t for Henry? Stupid question I know. Without Henry I would never have come here and never have met you.”  
“It reminds of the letter I found in your desk. The one where you talked about Daniel and how after he died you would think about all of these what ifs. I get it now because that is what I am doing – thinking about what ifs with you. “  
“It’s just … it’s not fair,” Emma said and she rubbed her forehead like she had a headache. “It’s not fair that you and I never got the chance to try and be something other than the Savior and the Evil Queen. Yes, I know it’s my fault, you don’t have to tell me this when I already know it, but damn it couldn’t you have just put away your pride for five minutes that night I showed up at your door? You sent me away. Do you have any idea what that feels like? Do you know how many times in my life growing up that I was sent away? First by my own parents and then foster family after foster family. It’s the worst feeling in the world to know you aren’t wanted and there is nothing you can do about it. That is how you made me feel and I hated you for it. There I said it. I hated you for making me feel like I was some 10 year old being sent back to an orphanage and so I struck back at you.”  
She turned silent for more than a minute as Regina and Emma kept their eyes on the screen, neither wanting to look at the other.   
“The letter you didn’t finish. I keep it with me all the time. I have read it so many times that the words are probably permanently etched on my brain somewhere. I just wished you had finished it. I wish I knew what it was that you were going to say to me.”  
The video went dark.

“Do you know about the letter?” present Emma asked Regina, who didn’t say anything at first, her eyes still on the computer screen.  
“Yes,” she said, finally. “I … my future self was working on it when Snow arrived.”  
“Oh,” Emma said.  
Silence.  
“Do you know what your future self was going to say in it?” Emma asked.  
“Yes.”  
Emma waited for Regina to elaborate and when she remained silent Emma was about to ask her what it was, but Regina moved to the next video before she could.

“Today was the first ultrasound. I didn’t tell even tell Killian. There I was all by myself – like I was when I had Henry. It didn’t seem right to have Killian there. Here is the thing, while I was in there I had another one of those overwhelming feelings that you were there with me. It brought me comfort to think of you being there. How crazy is that? I would rather have my dead lover in the room with me than the actual father of the baby. Maybe that is the problem – maybe I am going crazy. I never told anyone this, but when I was teenager – after I had been in the orphanage for several years they made me see a psychiatrist. I had been acting out and I don’t know I guess someone thought it would be a good idea if I talked things out. He was like some 60 year old guy with glasses who I am pretty sure knew jack shit about what it was like to be an orphan. He was talking about how it was perfectly normal for me to have issues and want to act out and draw attention to myself because it felt like no one was paying attention to me. I hadn’t said much the entire time and didn’t want to listen to his crap either. I ended telling him that I thought I was crazy and that maybe the adults sensed that and that is why none of them wanted to adopt me.”  
Emma grew silent again before talking.  
“He told me that I wasn’t crazy and I asked him how he knew. After all if he was sane how would he know what it was like to be crazy? He repeated that I wasn’t crazy, but I was looking for an excuse for why no one had adopted me. Then he went on and on about abandonment issues and what not, but I was no longer listening to him. Here is thing, if I wasn’t crazy back then and this – now – it feels different than before so maybe I wasn’t crazy back then but I am now.”  
“By the way, here is the picture from the ultrasound,” she said holding up the picture to the camera. “I waited long enough to have it done, despite my mom’s complaining that I was actually far enough along for them to determine the baby’s sex. I am having a girl. I had a name picked out already anyway. If it was a boy I was going to call him Alex. If it was a girl I was going to call her Alexandra, although knowing me I would still call her Alex. What do you think? Do you like that name?”

“Please tell me you are as weirded out as I am about this,” Emma said as the video stopped.  
“Not quite yet,” Regina said.   
“What the hell,” Emma said. “How is it possible that I would choose that name in two different timelines?”  
“Had you ever thought about having another child and giving him her or her that name?”  
“No. In fact when my future self said we had a kid name Alexandra I assumed you chose the name. Is that a name you would have chosen?”  
Regina didn’t hesitate when she said, “Yes. It was my great grandmother’s name on my father’s side. I never met her but my father used to talk about her with great admiration. He said she was progressive, before her time. She was forceful yet kind and was never too busy for him.”  
“Great so all my children are named after your side of the family,”  
Regina gave her a look. “Sorry,” Emma said. “Just trying to figure this all out. I don’t see where watching these videos are helping at all. I think we should track down future me and demand that she give us some actual answers.”  
“If she is anything like you I don’t think making demands will work,” Regina said.  
“Do you want keep sitting here watching these things? I don’t see a lot of answers coming out of it.”  
“Was what she said in that last video true? The part about you seeing a psychiatrist?”  
Emma turned away from her a moment. “It was true. I was only a kid, it was no big deal. I had sort of forgot about it until she mentioned it.”  
Regina somehow doubted that was true.   
“I am surprised she decided to share that; it’s kind of personal,” Emma said.   
“I think we should watch a few more of the videos and if we don’t see anything that helps then we will we go with your plan and find your future self, ok?”  
“Deal.”  
Regina activated the next video.

“Hook found out about the ultrasound. It sparked an argument. I told him that I didn’t want him there and I had no intention of raising this child with him. He didn’t take it well. He started saying stuff about how he had been more than patient with me and that I had no idea the things he had done to ensure our future. I asked him what he meant by that and he backed off a bit, although not much. He said that he took a big risk in going and getting the Jolly Roger back and how he had done that because the sea is his livelihood and he was going to make sure he had a way to support me and the baby. I told him I didn’t want his support, but he was the father so I wasn’t going to keep his daughter from him but that didn’t mean he and I had a future of any kind. I asked him to leave and he said this wasn’t over before he left. Why can’t my life be simple?”

Regina pressed play on the next video and immediate thought there was something wrong with the Emma that came on the screen. She was sitting up straighter in the chair she was sitting on. She had a determined look on her face.   
“Miss Swan,” the Emma on the video said. “If you are watching this, then you got the note I left you. Sorry for hijacking your body, but it was unavoidable. I don’t have a lot of time. I can’t keep control of your body for very long before your true self knocks me back into the recesses of your mind. I need you to listen to me. This is Regina. My soul is trapped inside of you. It had to have been Gold. No one else could have pulled off magic like this. To what end he had done this, I am not sure. What I do know is I can’t remain in here. It is much like what happened with Neal and his father. A body wasn’t meant to contain two souls. We need to find a way to get me out of here before it causes any permanent damage to you, or your child. Yes, I know about the child. I know everything that you have been recording in these videos. When you are talking to me or thinking strongly about me, it makes my soul connect with this world via you. I am actually rather amazed you haven’t been harmed by my presence. You must not confront Gold about this. He must not know that you know I am here. He is dangerous Emma. You can’t risk yourself or Alexandra. I need you to go to my mausoleum, to my space underneath it. Gather up all the spell books you can find there. I need them if I am to help you rid yourself of me for good. You aren’t going crazy so let’s please avoid that big of melodrama although if I continue to be in here I can’t guarantee that it won’t destroy your mind, body or soul. We must act quickly Miss Swan.”

The video stopped.  
Regina played it back again immediately. Everything about the way Emma was holding herself, speaking, her inflection, the word choice; it all screamed that it was indeed her speaking through Emma.   
When she had guessed that her soul was inside of Emma and causing her supposed insanity, she would never have guessed that she somehow figured out a way to take control of Emma’s body and speak through her.   
Present Emma was now pacing in front of the desk as the video finished up once more.   
“I would say I am officially weirded out now,” Regina said.   
“It’s about time,” Emma said. “You care to explain that to me.”  
“I am not sure I can. I have no idea how I would be able to take control like that.”  
“What about what she asked other me to do, with the spell books; would you have some way of separating souls?”  
“No,” Regina answered. “That is not exactly what she is asking for. It’s not a separation of souls she is trying to achieve. It’s more like an expulsion of a soul.”  
“What happens if that works?”  
“I would die for real. Without a body to be in I would be dead.”  
“That’s it, I am done with this. I want real answers. I am going to go find future me.”  
“I think that would be best,” Regina said standing up. She closed her laptop feeling a chill at the thought of her soul being trapped inside of Emma. Why would Gold do it, she still wondered. Was it as simple as wanting to eliminate Emma? Or did he have something else in mind? Regina couldn’t shake the feeling it was something else.  
“Are you ok?” Emma asked when Regina continued to stand there.  
“No,” Regina said. “I’m not.”  
“What’s wrong?”  
“I don’t know. I just suddenly felt like this is all inevitable in some way,” she said. “Gold is more dangerous than I think you really comprehend. And if he planned this out, then how do we know we aren’t still on that same path?”  
“We’re not. For one thing you are still alive.”  
Regina knew what Emma was saying was logical but she couldn’t quite get her mind to agree with it. “Come on, we should go,” Regina said. “We need to find out what your future self really knows about all of this and how she ended up with Gold’s dagger.”


	28. Chapter 28

When she left Regina’s, future Emma went back to the apartment and immediately laid down on the couch. She was completely exhausted from performing the magic, but she would have done it a million times over if it meant pulling Regina out of the astral projection. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for that woman, she knew that.   
But using the magic like that had tapped her out. She hadn’t used much magic because the majority of it was being used to keep her fixed in this timeline, but even that was temporary and she may have severely cut down on that time because of what she did.  
Once she was on the couch she fell into a deep sleep.  
It was so deep she didn’t hear the door that she had left unlocked open when someone entered a couple of hours later.  
She woke when she felt something cold against her cheek.  
“Hook!” she said scrambling up, realizing it was his hook that had been against her cheek. “What are you doing here?”  
“Well you did leave me hanging earlier,” he said smiling and sitting on the couch next to her.   
“Yeah sorry about that,” she said. “I just wasn’t in the mood.”  
“What about now?” he said putting his arm around her. “Are you in the mood now?”  
“No,” she said standing up quickly, too quickly as she immediately felt dizzy. Hook pulled her back down on the couch. Her head was swimming.  
Hook lowered her down so her head was resting in his lap. She was barely holding onto consciousness at this point. She needed to get up her mind screamed at her. She made an attempt at it, but he blocked it.  
“Just rest a moment,” he said, looking down at her with concern.   
She tried to remind herself that this wasn’t the Hook of her time, but found that thought didn’t give her much comfort. He was stroking the side of her face with his remaining hand and she let her eyes close, unable to keep them open.   
Even with her eyes closed she was able to keep some of her senses active. She felt him move and she was no longer lying with her head on his lap. A moment later though she felt him pick her up. It wasn’t until she felt herself be placed on the bed that she realized he had carried her into the bedroom. She felt the bed shift and knew he was on the bed   
He felt her forehead, checking to see if she had a fever. She managed to get her eyes open.  
“Are you ok?” he asked.  
She looked into his eyes and thought suddenly of a time when she had found him attractive, found his roguish behavior to be a bit of a turn on. His eyes told her that he was genuinely concerned about her, but she couldn’t reconcile that with the Hook she knew. The Hook who was so steadfastly opposed to her being with Regina.   
“I’m fine,” she managed to choke out.  
He laughed a little, “I don’t think you are fine.”  
“No, I am not,” she said. “I think it would be best if you left.”  
“I’m not leaving you. You almost passed out.”  
“Killian,” she said more forcibly. “I need you to leave.”  
“What is it with you lately Swan? You’ve been ditching me to work on this case that somehow involves Regina, and don’t say that it doesn’t because clearly it does. Then you show up at my place all ready to jump my bones and the moment it gets interesting, you suddenly aren’t in the mood. What gives?”  
She felt her magic pulling on her, actually it wasn’t her magic, it was time. Time was trying to pull her back to the future and her magic was too weak to keep it at bay much longer. She needed Hook to leave.  
She sat up, a chill running through her body as she felt her magic failing. “Look I don’t want to hurt you,” she said. “I never intended to hurt you Killian. But you and I don’t have a future together.”  
“How can you say that?”  
A sense of déjà vu hit her from when she had actually broken things off with Hook in her timeline. In that timeline they hadn’t gotten nearly as far as this Hook and Emma had, but Hook never forgave her for not giving it a chance.   
“I need you to leave.”  
“No, not until we talk about this.”  
“There isn’t anything to talk about.”  
“The hell there isn’t. You owe me an explanation.”  
Again that sense of déjà vu hit her. In her time Hook had demanded an explanation from her shortly after discover she was dating Regina. Her mind flashed to that conversation.

“I don’t owe you an explanation,” Emma said after Hook cornered her coming out of Granny’s.  
“You and Regina? What are you a lesbian now?”  
“Killian please,” Emma said. “Regina is who I want to be with. I am sorry if you can’t accept that but it doesn’t really matter to me if you can or can’t. Read my lips, I am not interested in you.”  
She tried to walk past him but he grabbed her arm and pulled her around into him before kissing her. She broke free and slapped him across the face.  
“Don’t you ever think you have the right to do that,” she said before leaving.

As the memory came through her mind she felt the tug of time again trying to wrench her back. She moved off the bed, able to keep upright this time.   
“I really need you to leave,” Emma said. “I’m sorry. Maybe we can talk about this later, but now is not a good time.”  
He got off the bed and came toward her, “I am not just going to leave you here when you are obviously sick or something. Maybe you should let me take you to the hospital.”  
He took a step toward her and she used her magic to freeze him in place. The expenditure of even that little bit of magic drove her to her knees.   
She looked up at him. She had used the same magic to freeze him earlier on his boat. When she chose to unfreeze him he wouldn’t realize anytime passed as long as she didn’t keep the spell on too long and in her condition she wouldn’t be able to keep it on long.   
She thought of Regina. She knew if time was able to pull her out that she wouldn’t be returning to her own future. She wouldn’t be returning to the arms of her beautiful wife or the laughter of Alex or Henry’s smile. She would be returning to that other time.  
She just wanted to be back where the belonged. She wanted to hold Regina as the slept, kiss her in the morning, make love to her at all times of the day. She wanted to sit and watch a movie with Henry or lose to him in a video game. She wanted to see him look at her and know that he loved her and forgave her for giving him up when he was born.   
She wanted to lift Alex into her arms and kiss her small cheeks. She wanted to read her a bedtime story and watch as she drifted off to sleep holding one of the 20 stuffed animals she always had to have on her bed.  
She had failed though.  
She had failed and the price she would pay for that failure was returning to a time where she would rather be dead.   
“Regina,” she said tears coming down her face as she felt pain hit her.   
“Emma!”  
She heard Regina’s voice and was sure she was hallucinating, until she saw Regina and her past self enter the room.  
“What’s going on here?” Emma asked seeing Hook not moving.  
Regina rushed to Emma’s side and helped her up. “Sorry,” Emma said to her past self. “I was trying to get him to leave but he wouldn’t. I …” She almost fell again but Regina kept her upright.  
“What’s wrong?” Regina asked her.  
“Time. My time appears to be up here.”  
“What? No. You can’t … how can I help you?”  
“You can’t, but thanks for being willing to try.”  
Regina looked at present Emma, her eyes pleading with her for help of some sort – any sort.  
“Let’s take her downstairs,” Emma said helping Regina get her down to the couch. Emma looked toward her bedroom. “We need to get him out of here.”  
Regina stood and waved her hand. “There, he is gone.”  
“What did you do to him?”  
“Nothing. He’s back on his ship and unfrozen. I imagine he will be on his way back here once he realizes where he is. We have bigger issues to deal with,” Regina said kneeling down and taking future Emma’s hand in hers. “Are you sure I can’t use my magic to help you stay?”  
Regina felt like she had been slapped as Emma shook her head no.   
“Can you give us a moment alone?” future Emma asked her counterpart.  
Emma looked down at Regina’s hands which were holding onto the other Emma as if she could keep her there out of sure will. Emma nodded and moved just far enough away that she wouldn’t disturb them, but could still watch them.  
Future Emma looked at Regina. It wasn’t her Regina, not exactly, but she felt such comfort just feeling her touch.   
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I am sorry I couldn’t fix things. I am sorry you won’t get to meet Alex or know the happiness that you have brought to my life. I thought … I thought I could fix it back here and we would be together. Maybe I was being too selfish for wanting it all back. Our lives, the lives of others in Storybrooke as they should be. I’m sorry I failed you.”  
“Shh,” Regina said wiping some of the tears from Emma’s face. “You haven’t failed me. You made me believe that maybe there is a happy ending out there for me. I just wish I could give you yours.”  
“You did,” Emma said. “You did.”  
Another wave of pain shot through her body and she squeezed Regina’s hand more. Regina knew she didn’t have much time.   
“Emma, tell me why did you kill Gold and become the Dark One?”  
“Did you watch the videos?”  
“Not all of them.”  
“Watch them; then you will understand. It wasn’t my plan it was hers.”  
“Hers who?”  
“The other Emma. I just executed her plan in hopes of fixing my timeline. That other place; her place, you have no idea. You have no idea what they did and the consequences.”  
“What does this have to do with why Gold put my soul in that Emma’s body?”   
“Alex.”  
Regina wasn’t sure she was trying to answer the question or just too far gone at this point that she was talking nonsense. “Alex, you mean our daughter or the daughter of Emma and Hook’s from the other timeline.”  
“Not his daughter,” Emma said. “I had to know for sure. I am sorry. I sort of let him kiss me. Don’t be mad. I did it for you. I had to know.”  
“Know what?”  
“Killian is sterile. He couldn’t have impregnated Emma.”  
“Then how did she end up pregnant?”  
“Alex isn’t a baby in that time line. Alex is a vessel.”  
“I don’t understand. What do you mean she is a vessel?”  
Emma cried out in pain once more and present Emma stepped back in.   
“Watch the videos,” Emma said looking at her younger self. “Watch them and learn from them. Even if I can’t have my time line you have to stop the other one from happening. You have to.”  
“I will,” present Emma said. “I promise.”  
Future Emma looked at Regina once more. “I know you aren’t her, but can I get a kiss from my wife.”  
Regina leaned and pressed her lips to Emma’s. Emma kissed her back and Regina could feel the desperation in each one.   
“I love you,” Emma said.  
“I love you too,” Regina whispered back.  
Future Emma shuddered in pain once more and then suddenly she was no longer there. Regina felt her hand pass through air as the other Emma disappeared. She continued to kneel there staring at that spot.   
She was really gone.   
It took her several moments to compose herself before standing. She found Emma was also staring at the now empty spot. Regina looked at her.  
“She’s right. We need to prevent that other timeline from happening.”  
“We will,” Emma said looking at her. “We will together.”  
….  
In the future  
Emma woke suddenly and sat up in bed.  
“Emma?”  
She turned to see Henry standing there beside the bed. She was sitting on Regina’s bed in the mansion.  
“The timeline, it didn’t change,” Henry said.   
Emma got out of bed, but nearly fell down but Henry caught her and sat her back down.  
“I know,” she said. “I failed.”  
“Can’t you try again?”  
“You know I can’t.”  
“So that’s it,” Henry said. “Things just go on here and whatever you just did; didn’t matter at all.”  
“It may yet matter,” she said. “Now it’s in my younger self’s hands. She may yet be able to prevent all of this from happening.”  
“But what about that other timeline, the one where we are a family?”  
“I am afraid that time line will never come to pass,” Emma said.  
“Then all of this was for nothing,” Henry said. “And mom is really gone.”  
“She isn’t gone, not entirely,” Emma said standing up.   
“That thing is not my mom,” Henry said.   
“We should get going,” Emma said putting her hand on his shoulder. “I am in no shape to face her if she catches us here.”  
“Do you really think your past self can prevent this, because you didn’t do a great job of it the first time around?”  
“I think the past has already changed, but clearly not enough if I still ended up back here, which means Regina is still going to have her soul ripped from her,” Emma said. “And Gold’s little experiment will still come to pass.”


	29. Chapter 29

In the present

Regina started toward the door.   
“Where are you going?” Emma asked.  
“I need to go,” Regina said. “There is something I need to check.”  
“What about the videos, we need to watch them.” Emma had the flash drive in her pocket, not wanting to leave it behind at Regina’s.  
“I know. I will be back. Besides, if my guess is right you are about to have company and it’s probably best that I am not here when Hook returns,” she said.   
“How long are you going to be gone?”  
Regina looked back at the couch where future Emma had been. “I don’t know,” she said.   
“Regina,” Emma said taking a step toward her. “You are doing it again, that thing where I know you know something. What is it? Is it about what she said about Alex?”  
“I’m sorry,” Regina said. “Text me when your guest leaves.”  
“Wait,” Emma said, but Regina hurried out the door before Emma could stop her. “Damn it.” So much for doing this together, she thought.  
This had all gotten out of hand way too quickly for her liking and she felt like it was spiraling out of control even more and she didn’t know what to do. She knew her future self had disdain for that alternate future, but until she saw her on the couch moments away from returning to it, she had no idea that she feared that future. She knew that look on her face, it was one of fear. Something about that timeline had freaked her out, but what.  
She was tempted to fire up her laptop and watch the videos but she also knew that Regina was right and she would soon have company. How did she even begin to explain any of this to Killian? She hadn’t even processed the fact that he was the one who killed Regina in the future. Did he really work with Gold just to get his ship back?  
She had too many questions and not enough answers.  
If her future self was here again she would gladly slam her against the wall and make her tell the things she should have told her in the first place. Perhaps if she had been upfront about everything they wouldn’t be in this mess. But no her future self was so obsessed with Regina and getting back to her own timeline that she didn’t even seem concerned about the alternate one until it was too late. “Fuck,” she swore.   
She sat down on the couch trying to calm down. It wouldn’t do her any good to be angry at her future self when the woman wasn’t even here any longer. She needed to concentrate on the present and making sure Regina was safe. “Damn it,” she cursed again. How was she supposed to keep Regina safe when she just let the woman walk out the door by herself? “Some protector I am,” Emma said. She pulled out her phone and dialed Regina’s number but it went straight to voicemail. “Regina, it’s me. Call me back when you get this. You shouldn’t be off by yourself until we figure all this out. Just … just don’t get yourself killed and call me.”  
She was almost angry enough to throw the phone at the wall, but common sense prevailed – for the moment at least.   
Now all she could do was wait – wait for Regina to call her back or wait for Killian to show up. What the hell was he doing here anyway and why was he in her bedroom with her future self? She had nothing even remotely believable to tell him about how he ended up back on his ship. Then there was what her future self had said – that she had been trying to get him to leave but he wouldn’t.  
She wasn’t ready to deal with this right now. She needed to keep her mind focused on preventing this future from happening. Mentally she cursed her future self again – why wasn’t she just upfront about all of it? Then again Emma knew why – she wouldn’t have believed her if she had told the truth.  
She didn’t have to wait long before there was heavy knock on the door. She got up and opened it.  
“What is going on?” Hook demanded walking into her apartment. Emma closed the door behind him and turned to face him.  
“I am sorry about the whole magic thing,” Emma said, realizing she couldn’t tell him the truth. “I am still not very good at controlling it.”  
“So that was what, an accident?”  
“Yes an accident. What did you think it was?”  
“I don’t know, you are the one who has been acting strange lately. I think I am owed an explanation.”  
“Excuse me,” Emma said. “I don’t owe you anything. I’ve been busy; I have tried to explain this to you.”  
“Through lies. You say you have this case that has been keeping you busy, a case you said has nothing to do with Regina, yet I find you with her in Gold’s shop, then a few nights ago I see you coming out of Regina’s house well after midnight, and then you cancel dinner with me only to show up at the boat, but the moment things start getting interesting you are suddenly not in the mood. I come here to see about picking up where I left off and you are clearly sick or something, and when I show concern you tell me to leave. All I want is an explanation as to what is going on with you?”  
“How did you know I was coming out of Regina’s house after midnight?” Emma asked.   
Hook backed up a step.  
“Did you follow me to Regina’s?”  
“No!”  
“Then how did you know I was there?”  
“So you admit you were there?”  
“Yes, I was but how did you know? Have you been following me?”  
“No,” he repeated.  
“Then how did you know?”  
“Because … because I was following Regina.”  
“What? Why?”  
“Gold. Gold paid me to keep an eye on her. Just her comings and goings and let him know.”  
“Why would he do that?”  
“I don’t know. I don’t care.”  
“Then why would you do it?”  
Hook looked down at his feet and then up at her. “He can help me get my ship back.”  
This time Emma took a step back. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening.   
“I am sorry, I should have told you,” Hook said coming toward her.  
“Get out,” Emma said opening the door.   
“No, we need to talk about this.”  
“There is nothing to talk about. You leave now. You and I are through, do you understand? I don’t want anything to do with you from this moment on.”  
“You don’t mean that.”  
“Yes, I do,” she said through clenched teeth. “Get out.”  
“Fine, I will wait until you calm down and we can talk about this rationally,” he said stepping into the doorway. “We have something special Swan. I feel and you feel it. We’re connected.”  
“If you continue to follow Regina or come anywhere near her the only connection you are going to feel from me is my knee into your groin,” she said pushing him the rest of the way out and locking the door behind him.   
She ran her fingers into her hair, holding her head. This couldn’t be real her mind told her. But it was. Hook getting his ship back, Gold and Hook working together, it was just like how the future happened. She was so upset she was shaking.  
She sunk to the floor, her back against the door, her breaths coming rapidly. They’re going to do it, she thought, Gold and Hook were actually going to kill Regina. She fished her phone out of her pocket and dialed Regina’s number again, but it again went to voicemail.  
“Regina, I need you to call me back now. Call me and let me know where you are at, please,” she said. “I … I think you are in danger.”

….

Regina stepped into her mausoleum going directly over to a chest that contained many things including a certain book she was looking for. Getting down on her knees she moved around the objects inside until she found the book. It was actually hidden by magic in the form of a harmless book so that if anyone would come across it they would not know what it was. She pulled it out now and released the spell that cloaked it and sat on the top of the chest holding the small tome in her hand.  
Even touching this thing made her uneasy, it always had. The cover was made of some sort of flesh that had long since hardened. It wasn’t the cover that bothered her – it was what was inside of it that did.  
She hadn’t understood when future Emma had said Alex was a vessel. She was too wrapped up in Emma’s pain and the emotions she realized they were both feeling to think clearly about it. Even when the thought came to her she was still unsure, this is why she decided to leave Emma’s apartment so she could check for herself. It wasn’t the only reason though. She had not been expecting to feel such an overwhelming loss with future Emma’s departure.  
She hadn’t expected the hurt she felt now in her chest.  
Emma was gone.  
She thought about feeling those lips on hers in those last moments. The declaration of love and the full knowledge that while she wasn’t this Emma’s wife, that somewhere, some time she got her happy ending made Regina happy and sad at the same time.   
But future Emma wasn’t headed back to that happy ending. No, she was headed back to the alternate future where she was dead and her soul was inside Emma.  
The feeling that her happy ending had been stolen from her crept into her thoughts and suddenly she felt like that young girl who had to watch Daniel die. In that moment she had felt her happy ending destroyed and there was nothing she could do to stop it and that is how she began to feel again.  
She tempered down those thoughts and feelings. She couldn’t let them consume her like they once had. No, she told herself, she needed to stay focused.   
She opened up the book and flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for. Unlike her other spell books, this one wasn’t written in Elvish. At the time she was given the book she didn’t know what the language was, and still couldn’t read the book except for these couple of pages. These pages had been translated for her.   
When she came to this world, she came across the same language which surprised her. Here they called it Sanskrit.  
There was a time when that translation had been tucked away inside the book, but she had long since destroyed it. She should have destroyed the book entirely. Knowing what little she did of the book was enough to convince her that no good could come of it.  
She almost had to laugh thinking about it – there was a time as the Evil Queen she would have used anything at her disposal to get what she wanted. It turns out it was almost anything – this book had stopped her. There were some boundaries that weren’t meant to be crossed.  
Yet once upon a time she had considered crossing that boundary.

“Incompetent fools,” Regina said entering her chamber. “They let Snow slip through their fingers once again.”  
She picked up a bottle of perfume off of her vanity and flung against the far wall where it shattered. It didn’t make her feel any better, but she had to do something besides order the death of the idiot captain who had failed to return with Snow.  
“I am sorry they have failed you,” Genie said from inside the mirror.  
She didn’t look at him; she hated his presence even if she did find him to be useful at times. It seemed that no one understood that Snow White needed to be destroyed. People were actually helping her despite the rewards Regina had offered for her capture. She needed to look into Snow’s eyes as she died – just like she had to watch Daniel die.  
She reached for Daniel’s ring, finding comfort in touching it. She began to calm down slowly.  
“Having a bad day dearie?”  
Her annoyance level skyrocketed at that voice.  
“You aren’t welcome here,” she said whirling around to face him.  
“Now, now you don’t even know what I have come here to offer,” Rumpel said.  
“I am not interested in anything you have to say.”  
“But what I have to offer is equally beneficial to us both.”  
Regina laughed, “I highly doubt that. You don’t believe in equally beneficial.”  
“Under normal circumstances I do not, but in this case there is something I was hoping you would assist me in procuring. And if you do so you may find that it will also be helpful in fulfilling one of your own goals.”  
“You mean Snow White’s funeral pyre,” she turning from him dismissively.   
“No, I mean the return of your true love.”  
This time when she turned to face him, she did so with a fireball in her hand. “Speak quickly imp or I swear you will see just how powerful I have become.”  
“You can’t defeat me Regina, we both know this. You have your power because of me so show some gratitude,” he said.  
“Speak.”  
“There is a certain book out there – a book of magic that I have heard of and would be interested in getting a closer look at,” he said pausing whether for dramatic flair or to annoy her, she wasn’t sure but she wanted badly to burn that smug look off of his face.  
“What kind of book and why does it interest you?” Regina asked extinguishing the fire.  
“Why it interests me is none of your concern.”  
“Then why should it interest me?”  
“Like I said, it could mean the return of your precious Daniel.”  
“Say his name again in my presence and I don’t care if it destroys me in the process, but I will kill you.”  
“Touchy, touchy your majesty,” he said walking over to the wall and leaning on it, next to the mirror. “This book is said to contain some very powerful magic, including a process by which you might be able to bring back the soul of someone who has passed.”  
“You keep using words like ‘might’ or ‘could.’ I am not interested in fairy tales.”  
“Well I don’t know for sure because I have never seen said book, only heard of it, which is why I am here for your assistance, rather the assistance of your mirror here.”  
Regina looked at the trapped Genie. “What assistance do you think he could give you?”  
“The location of the book. It comes from his land Agrabah. And I know he knows the location just like I know he isn’t going to tell me where without your permission.”  
Regina smiled and walked toward the mirror. “You want me to have him tell you where this book is so you can retrieve it, yes?”  
“Yes.”  
“And after you are finished with said book you are going to just turn it over to me?”  
“Yes. Do we have a deal?”  
“No,” she said walking away from him.   
“I assure you Regina that while I have not personally seen this book, the magic it can unlock is quite powerful,” he said. “I can understand why you would wonder or doubt how it could help you in your particular situation, and I can offer no guarantees that it will help you …”  
“Then you are offering me nothing,” she interrupted. She was done with this conversation. Perhaps she would go watch that failure of a captain get beheaded after all – it would be better than wasting her time with him. “Show yourself out.”  
She got to the door when Rumpel spoke again, “It’s called the Resurrection Book.”  
“No,” Genie said and Regina turned back around coming not to Rumpel but to the mirror.  
“What do you know of this book?”  
The Genie glanced at Rumpel first before looking at her. “It is a book of great magic, but dangerous magic. It is not to be messed with my queen.”  
“Can it do as he says, can it bring my Daniel back?”  
“I do not know. It was locked away to keep it from being used. But I do know that within its pages was the curse that made me a genie in the first place.”  
“Powerful magic indeed,” she said and then looked at Rumpel. “Is that what you want it for? To make a genie to grant wishes?”  
“No,” he said. “As your genie can attest to those wishes never come out as expected and usually end in misery.”  
“Tell me what you want the book for and I will consider your request,” she said.  
“Fine,” he said moving away from her. “It is my understanding that the book contain a spell for creating a vessel.”  
“A vessel. I am going to assume, you aren’t referring to a ship, but of a container of some sort.”  
“That is correct.”  
“What kind of vessel.”  
“One that can contain very powerful magic,” he said. “And that is all you need to know. It doesn’t concern you beyond getting that book. Do we have a deal?”  
“I don’t do deals with you. Like the genie’s wishes, they don’t quite end the way we think they will.”  
“You are willing to pass up on the chance that this book contains something you want as well? Something that is more important to you than your revenge?”  
She thought about it a moment. “I may have the mirror tell me where the book is at. I may even retrieve it,” she said. “But if I do the book stays with me. Whatever this spell is that you want, that is the only part of it you get. That is if I decide to get the book.”  
Rumpel came close so they were standing inches apart. “We both know you are going to get the book, so I accept your terms.”   
He turned from her. “Let me know when you have it,” he said before disappearing.  
“Do not do this my queen,” the mirror said. “This is not magic that you want to have any part of.”  
“Tell me where to find the book,” she ordered.

The genie told her where to find the book, and she sent men after it. She had sent more than 50 men – only four returned, all of whom refused to talk about what had happened or what they had seen even under her threats of death.   
She took the book from them and discovered later that all four had killed themselves in varying ways.  
The first time she held the book she could almost feel its darkness, like a well of ink you dipped a quill in. But when she opened it she screamed in anger. It was in a language she did not know.  
She wasn’t about to hand it over to Rumpel, whom she was sure had means to read it. She didn’t trust him to tell her what part of the book she needed. Since the book came from Agrabah though, she had one source that could help her.  
When she presented the book to genie he again begged her not to open it or do any of the spells. She ordered him to shut up and look at the pages to tell which of the spells could help bring Daniel back. He found it about three-fourths of the way back and she sat and wrote down what he told her it said.   
She wasn’t really thinking about the spell as she wrote it down as she had time to think it over after she got the words translated. But she knew immediately she would be dealing with very dark magic. This wasn’t a spell to resurrect a person – this was a spell that could resurrect a soul.   
Once the translation was complete, she left the room – wanting to go somewhere where she could be alone to think. She went to her garden and sat on the bench.   
She knew about souls and how powerful they were, but according to this spell it would be possible to resurrect a soul from someone long dead. That shouldn’t be possible based on what she knew. Souls were too fragile. They didn’t stick around after death.  
This wasn’t the first time she had looked for a solution to bring Daniel back. He was dead, but she believed the magic was powerful enough to bring him back. She believed if she could get his body to come to life, his soul – wherever it was – would return to it. Souls knew where they belonged – that is why things like true love were possible – true love, which she believed she and Daniel shared, was nothing more than two souls recognizing they belonged together. If Daniel’s body could be brought to life then his soul would come back with it.  
But this spell suggested the opposite – that with a soul life was possible.   
If she could resurrect his soul inside his body then the body would live.   
It sounded simple, which made her suspect it. The spell itself was not simple – quite complicated in fact, but not impossible. It was the concept she was wrestling with because it was too simple. Magic came with a price, so what was the price here?  
She needed more information before deciding what to do. Someone must have performed the spell before – she needed to know what the result was. 

Regina had discovered what the result was, which is part of the reason why she should have destroyed the book upon finding out. Yet she hadn’t and here it was sitting in her hands once more. That spell wasn’t exactly why she had gone looking for the book, although looking back she could see why her mind had jumped to it. But her soul hadn’t been resurrected it, it had been torn from her. She hadn’t died before her soul was taken so it never went to wherever souls went upon death. The book wasn’t clear on that part either, only that it was possible to recall that soul from wherever it was.   
She flipped back a few more pages and ran her finger along the inside binding where two pages had been torn out. She had torn those pages out herself and had turned them over to Rumpel. It was the spell he had been after.   
She had turned it over to him but not before having the genie translate the spell for her. She wanted to know what Rumpel was up to that he was willing to come to her to get this book.   
The spell hadn’t been what she was expecting when Rumpel said it was a spell to create a vessel. It did indeed include instructions on creating a vessel that could contain powerful magic, but she wondered now what he wanted it for back then.   
Given what she knew now she knew it could create a vessel that could contain a soul.   
She didn’t know if he had ever actually done the spell back then and if so what the purpose would have been for it.   
In fact when she had the genie reading the titles to the spell she had almost passed this one over based on its title. But it was also the title that had given her pause and made her have genie translate it.  
For all her knowledge of magic, she knew there were still fundamental rules about magic. Of course, one of those supposed rules had recently been proven false by her sister – time travel. One of those rules was that magic is power or energy, but it’s not life. It can be used to affect life, yes, but independently it not life itself. Magic wasn’t even inherently light or dark – that depended on the user. She had been taught dark magic and had used dark magic throughout her life, but it didn’t make her incapable of light magic – something she pulled off solely because of Henry’s belief in her.  
But what if like time travel, magic could become life – then what would that life be like?  
She felt sick to her stomach thinking of that spell now. It was titled, “Living Magic.”  
“What have you done Gold?” she said out loud to herself.


	30. Chapter 30

“There you are,” Emma said entering the Regina’s vault. “Why do you have your phone off? Your life is in danger and you …”  
Emma stopped the lecture she had been preparing in her mind since she had been searching for Regina. She had stopped by the mansion, even stopped at her parent’s house thinking Regina might have gone to see Henry, but finally she decided to check here. And she was prepared to lay into Regina for being so careless until she saw the other woman was sitting with a book in her hand and the look on her face was one of deep sadness.   
Regina hadn’t even acknowledged her and Emma realized Regina didn’t even know she was there until she moved closer and startled the other woman.  
“What is that?” Emma asked motioning to the book.  
“It is a powerful book of magic, one that I should have destroyed a long time ago, but for whatever reason I didn’t,” she said with regret. “This once contained the spell to create a vessel to contain magic. This is how Gold created the vessel, which I suspect is the Alex your alternate future self is carrying inside of her.”  
“Then she was telling the truth, that it isn’t Killian’s baby?”  
“I imagine she was telling the truth about a great many things.”  
Emma tried not to take the comment as a slight, mostly because Regina didn’t say it with malice. If anything she said it without any emotion, which bothered Emma more than if she had said it in a spiteful manner.  
“Does that book say what this vessel is all about?”  
“Not exactly. It includes a spell I once turned over to Gold, a spell that would create vessel that would hold an immense amount of magic, a magic that could live.”  
“I’m going to need the Beginning Magic for Dummies version of what that means.”  
Regina sighed, “I don’t know for sure what the outcome would be. This whole book is in a language I can’t read. I had that spell and one other from it translated. But while I read over the translation of the spell I gave to Gold, I never studied it intently. To really know what a spell does or can do, you have to study it, know its nuances so you know how best to utilize the power. I had no desire to do that with that spell. At the time I was somewhat grateful to have at least part of this book out of my hands.”  
Regina’s eyes again settled on the book and Emma came closer and knelt in front of her. “You don’t know exactly, but you have some idea I take it?”  
“I think Gold used my soul to create a living magic, but to do so he needed an incubator for lack of a better term.”  
“Me?”  
“Correct.”  
“But this vessel, I mean she had an ultrasound, surely she would have mentioned if there was something odd about it or something wrong with the child. Would it really be normal if it isn’t really a child?”  
“Are you familiar with what a Golem is?”  
“That weird little creature from Lord of the Rings?”  
Regina gave her a confused look before shaking her head. “A Golem is a creature that is made of inanimate material that is given life through magic, although life really isn’t a good word for it. Golems are meant to be controlled. They don’t have thoughts, feelings, emotions; they are tools which are used by the one controlling them for whatever purpose. They know only their master’s purpose. Nothing else matters to them. From what I can conjecture, this would be similar except that instead of being made from inanimate material, it is made from living material. In this case a baby.”  
“How is that even possible? I mean you can’t just make a baby out of magic can you?”  
“It appears you can, although calling it a baby may not be entirely accurate. A baby is a life that goes along an expected path – a baby ages, grows develops and is influenced by his or her upbringing. A vessel is something else entirely. And that is what concerns me. Gold has created something, but I have no idea what that something is, or how much of it is … me.”  
Emma stood back up. “Because it’s your soul, you think that this thing he created is part you?”  
“And possibly part you. It’s your body after all that is giving this Alex life.”  
Emma turned from her before turning back to her. “Could this get any worse? No really, could this be more messed up?” She ran her fingers through her hair. “How can you sit there all calm?”  
“I assure you Miss Swan, I am not calm,” she said standing up. “If anything I am sickened by the mere thought of this and once again it’s all my fault.”  
“Your fault? How is this your fault?”  
“This book,” she said holding it up. “I am the one that retrieved this book. I am the one who had the chance to destroy it and didn’t. I gave the spell to Gold. I did this. This is my life, this is what I do, I make the wrong decisions again and again and again and I never seem to learn from it.  
”Hey, hey, the person who gave Gold that spell isn’t the person you are now,” Emma said putting her hand on Regina’s forearm. “Now we could continue to talk about past mistakes, which we have both made in our lives, or we can concentrate on the here and now.”  
Regina nodded yes, “but right after this is over, I am going to do what I should have done all those years ago; I am going to destroy this book.”  
“Why did you have it in the first place?”   
“There was a spell in it that Gold told me might be able to bring Daniel back.”  
Emma saw the hurt look on her face as she again looked down at the book, and she felt bad about asking.   
“My research into that spell is what led me to believe this book should be destroyed,” Regina said.   
Emma thought Regina was about to say more but remained silent. Emma’s curiosity almost got the better of her and the question she wanted to ask was on the tip of her tongue until she again saw that look on Regina’s face. She realized it wasn’t just hurt she was seeing, she was seeing the emotion of someone remembering loss.  
“Maybe we should get back to your place. We still have those videos to go through. Hopefully we can get a better handle on what is going on here. Plus I sort of have something to tell you.”  
“What?”  
….

Regina unlocked the door and closed it after Emma walked in.   
“So your boyfriend hasn’t been stalking you, he’s been stalking me,” Regina said after Emma told her about Hook. “That’s just great.”  
“He’s not my boyfriend.”  
Regina gave her a look.  
“Ok, well he is not my boyfriend anymore,” Emma conceded. She checked the doorknob that Regina had just locked a moment ago and then looked out the window. “But this is too much like what we know happened to you – Gold and Hook working together. Gold is tracking your movements.”  
“I don’t think he is following me now,” Regina said noticing Emma’s movements.  
“Well, I am not taking any chances,” Emma responded. “Stay here by the door while I search the house.”  
Emma took out her gun and moved off to her left. Regina shook her head and followed.   
“I told you to stay behind,” Emma said.   
“Right, like that was going to happen. We are in my house Miss Swan.”  
Emma looked back at her, “I have mentioned before how much I dislike it when you call me that, haven’t I?”  
“Yes, which is why I continue to do it,” Regina smiled.  
“Nice to see we are being adults.”  
They continued through the house until Emma was satisfied that no one was there with them. They settled back into Regina’s office and she booted up her computer and they reinserted the flash drive to pick up where they left off.

The screen came back on with an extremely stressed looking Emma appeared.   
“Regina,” she said and then stopped and looked away from the camera. She shook her head no and ran her fingers through her hair before facing straight once more. “I must be crazy. I mean how else do you explain what I saw in that video? I must have finally lost it and recorded it that myself. I had to have because if I didn’t that means … that means you are really inside of me, and let’s face it that is crazy. Your soul inside me. How could that even happen? Why would Gold do that if we are playing the hypothetical game that you are really inside of me? You know what, never mind, I am not doing this. This is clearly me going crazy and I am not doing this.”  
The screen went blank.

Regina wanted to comment on the lack of trust Emma had in both timelines but kept her mouth shut as she clicked on the next video.  
Emma again appeared on the screen and immediately both women knew it wasn’t Emma, it was Regina.  
“Miss Swan I can’t stress to you enough that I do not feel comfortable risking you or your child by taking control of your body but I am making an exception here to reiterate my point. You are not going crazy. You are just being an idiot. Don’t think I don’t know what you have been doing since your last video entry. You’ve been trying your very best not to think of me or this circumstance so that you won’t feel me in here. You’ve been doing a horrible job at it as well. It’s almost comical how much you do think of me. I am still here. I am going to continue to be here until you help me find a way to remove my soul. But we can’t do that until you stop behaving like a scared little child. Now let me say this again, I need you to go to my vault and gather up the spell books you find there.”

“You didn’t need to be so mean,” Emma said as the video went off.  
“Excuse me,” Regina shot back. “You’re the one who is wasting time when I have already pointed out that you are not in fact going insane.”  
“Yes but you could have done it a way that didn’t require you to be all …”  
“All what?”  
“I don’t know, I just think you were a little harsh on her.”  
“Sorry if me being trapped in your ... wait, why are we even talking about this? That isn’t me, that isn’t you. At least not exactly. Maybe we can try and focus.”  
“Fine,” Emma said crossing her arms. Regina thanked her own restraint from earlier about not commenting on the other Emma realizing now how ridiculous it was. Still she couldn’t help but feel like her and Emma’s lives were intertwined in ways neither had yet considered.   
Regina clicked on the next video.

“You don’t have to be so mean,” the Emma said into the video. “This is a lot to deal with. You were dead and now you are what, alive and inside me? I don’t understand why this is happening or how it is even possible. I will go get your books but you have to give me more information on what the hell is going on here. I don’t care what kind of strain it puts on my body, I can’t do this by myself.”

It was a short offering and Regina wasted no time moving on to the next.  
“I have all the books I could find down there,” Emma said. “So what’s next? I feel kind of stupid asking it like that but I can’t do more without you. I sort of thought I would hear from you by now. You know take over my body and lecture me about not moving fast enough to get the books or something.”  
Emma paused.  
“Come on Regina, I’ve been thinking about you like non-stop and I know you know this because now that I know you are in there I can feel you even more than I was before. And if I feel you, then you feel me too yet you haven’t done anything. I know you said you were concerned about taking over my body but I am giving you permission. As weird as it is to see you on these videos talking from my body, at least I know it’s you. I can’t read these books in their Elvish writing so you know you are going to have go through them and then tell me what to do.”  
“I do have kind of a sensitive question to ask. Your um body it has seen better day. The bullet it tore up your skull pretty good. Is there something we need to fix your body first before your soul goes back in it?”

Regina hit pause on the video and quickly got out of her seat. She walked away from the desk a moment before turning to Emma.   
“She doesn’t know,” Emma said.  
“What does she think is going to happen?”  
“How should I know?”   
“She’s you.”  
“Didn’t we just have this discussion? She’s not me, not really.”  
Regina put her hands on her hips. “Pretend to be her for a moment then and please explain to me what she is thinking.”  
Emma was silent for several heartbeats. “She knows. I think a part of her knows at least. But she doesn’t want to have to face it so she’s choosing not to.”  
“Why would she do that?”  
Emma looked right at her. “Because she’s in love with you and she doesn’t think she can handle losing you again.”


	31. Chapter 31

Regina splashed water on her face and looked at her reflection in the mirror above the bathroom sink. Emma had left a little while ago after she was contacted by dispatch about a breaking and entering.   
The sound of Emma’s phone had startled her – the two women had been looking at each other after Emma had given Regina the answer to her question. Neither woman seemed to know what to say and then the phone rang.  
Emma had gotten off the phone quickly.  
“I can try and get my dad to respond to this call.”  
“No,” Regina said quickly. “You are the sheriff, you should go.”  
“I won’t be gone long.”  
“You know I am kind of tired and I imagine you are too. We should regroup tomorrow.”  
Emma didn’t say anything, merely looked down at her phone. “I’m coming back here after I respond to this B&E.”  
“I really am tired.”  
“That’s fine, we can watch more of the videos tomorrow, but I am coming back here. I am not leaving you alone in this house.”  
“I can put a protection spell around the house. You have already checked to make sure no one is here and as soon I put that spell in place, no one is going to get into it.”  
“Not good enough.”  
“Excuse me.”  
“It’s not good enough. I am coming back here, so put your spell up if you want, but you are letting me in when I get back,” Emma said making it to the door. “And no arguments.”  
Emma left before Regina could think of an argument to make.  
Now she was in the bathroom trying to think about anything but Emma. Now that she had three Emmas to think about she was finding it quite impossible.  
She didn’t want to think about the future Emma who in some time line she was married to and apparently blissfully happy with. She could still remember what it felt like to kiss her.  
She gripped the sides of the sink willing herself to think of something, anything other than Emma. She took several deep breaths and closed her eyes. She just needed a moment.   
When she opened them up thought the image of the alternate future Emma on that screen popped into her head. The idea that this woman may be so delusionally in love with that she would ignore the fact that once her soul was removed that it wasn’t going back into a body – it would go where souls go.   
And wherever that was, souls really weren’t meant to return from it.  
“Miss Swan isn’t the idiot, I am,” Regina said. “How did I not learn that lesson all those years ago?”

In the past  
A part of Regina knew that leaving her kingdom was probably not the smartest idea she had ever had, but she didn’t care if her kingdom went up in flames if it meant she could bring Daniel back.  
To do that though she needed more information about the spell.  
Someone had written the spell, and she refused to believe that someone hadn’t cast it before, which is why she was now in Agrabah.  
She had not come with a force. This was a personal journey for her and she was confident her magical abilities could fend off anything that came her way.  
She did however have to bring a small mirror with her. This was the genie’s land and as much as she didn’t want to rely on his help, she had no choice. They had now been in the city for six days – four of which she spent brow beating genie into giving her the information she needed.  
Every time she spoke to him he would continuously try and talk her into forgetting all of it and going home.   
He finally gave her a real lead to track down – the person who had hidden the book away. According to genie, the man’s name was al’Hadinn and he lived in outside of the city. He lived with a group of followers who worshipped their God Dushara amongst the mountain range to the north. Regina had hired a caravan to take her out there so she could meet this al-Hadinn.  
She hated the desert air and the heat of the sand. She could understand why genie would want to leave this place. The smell of the camels alone made her sick. No wonder this place was so backward, she thought – they thought camels were better than horses. She spent most of the journey imagining what it would be like to invade this country and scatter all of its inhabitants to the four winds. Maybe after she was done engineering Snow’s downfall she would reward herself by turning this desert into a winter wonderland.   
They arrived at the encampment of al-Hadinn at the base of mountains. They clearly saw her caravan coming, but there was no cause for alarm among the people. Either they were very trusting, which Regina dismissed as weakness, or they believed they were untouchable, which she would show them they were not if she didn’t get the answers she wanted.  
Her guide spoke to a young man once they dismounted and she saw the man look at her and shake his head several times. She had made it clear to her guide earlier that she wouldn’t be taking no for an answer and that if he couldn’t facilitate her needs, she would remove every inch of his skin before burning him alive.  
She smiled when she saw her guide emphatically speaking to the young man who again looked at her. The man then turned and left and her guide came up to her.  
“He will pass along your request to speak to al’Hadinn,” the guide said.  
“It wasn’t a request.”  
“Of course,” he said bowing slightly to her. “Like I told you before, al’Hadinn’s people are known for being welcoming, but the man himself is often considered a recluse.”  
“He will see me,” Regina said not bothering to make eye contact with this camel pusher. “One way or another he will. You better hope that it doesn’t require my interference.”  
“Yes, your majesty,” he said bowing again and then returning to where he spoke with the young man in hopes the other would return soon.   
She took a drink from her water bottle, which she had spelled to always remain full with fresh spring water from home. The sun had seemed to be directly overhead the entire trip here and it hadn’t let up.   
Her patience was beginning to wear thin when she saw a young woman approach her guide. The woman looked at Regina a moment before speaking with him. By the way her guide was bowing over and over again she was guessing it was good news and the man was just grateful that his life would not be forfeit. He came running back to her.   
“al’Hadinn grants you can audience. He says you must go alone. The woman there will guide you to him.”  
She walked by him without another word and approached the woman. As she got closer she guessed she was not much older than 15 or 16. She did not appear to be intimidated by Regina in the slightest and barely gave her a second look as she turned and walked away. Regina followed her, a little miffed by the girl’s reaction. Normally people were apprehensive about turning their backs on Regina, but this girl acted as if Regina was nothing more than a sheep that she needed to lead to the pasture lands.   
It bothered Regina and if her quest wasn’t so important she would have taught this girl and all of those in the camp a lesson in respecting a queen. But there could still be time for that is this al’Hadinn did not help her.  
The girl led her into a cleft in the mountain and then up a pathway that wound up to a plateau. The girl stopped once they reached the top and pointed at a tent that was on the far end of the plateau. Clearly this was where she continued on her own so she walked on by, making sure she looked at the girl one more time. If she did have to teach these desert dwellers a lesson she wanted to make sure she this girl witnessed it all.   
As she walked toward the tent she thought about what little she knew of this man. Her guide was next to useless in that department, but Genie had given her some information. From what he knew al’Hadinn was once a royal advisor – a man of great power and influence. He was known to employ magic but to what extent Genie didn’t know.  
Despite having such a high position in the sultan’s court, al’Hadinn one day walked away from it all. He wasn’t seen again for years until one day he reemerged in these mountains. Slowly others who wanted to live life among the majestic range joined him out there.   
Word reached the sultan that al’Hadinn was there and he sent men to confirm that it was indeed him, asking that al’Hadinn return to the capitol even just for a visit so the sultan could lay eyes on him once more.   
It was said that al’Hadinn did not want to return to the city but he had loved the sultan very much and held him in such high regard that he could not refuse him. He told the sultan’s men to tell the sultan that he would visit him in fortnight when the moon rose above the palace’s tower. He told them that he would speak to the sultan alone in his chambers and there were to be no others present.  
The former advisor kept his word and appeared before his sultan, and the sultan found his friend to be much different from his days in the court. He asked al’Hadinn about this, but his friend remained silent about where he had been, saying only that it was time to return home.  
Then al’Hadinn asked the sultan for a favor. This was the part of the story that had brought Regina to Agrabah. It was said al’Hadinn asked the sultan for 50 of his men to accompany him on a mission. The sultan asked why and that was when al’Hadinn told him that during his travels he had found a book, a powerful book of magic – one that he could not risk being in the hands of anyone ever again.  
The sultan gave him the men he requested and they went to hide the book which was now in Regina’s possession.  
Regina approached the tent, rolling her eyes as she wondered how these people lived without proper doors. She moved aside the animal hide that acted as a door and entered.   
A lone man sat at a small table at the back of the tent. He did not stand when she came in or say anything but he gestured that she should take the seat opposite of her. She did so, taking her time so she could study him. He seemed younger than she figured he really was. His black hair had streaks of gray in it but his physique was of someone who kept in shape. But it was his eyes that were dominant feature – a deep brown that spoke of sadness and loss. Still she was wary of him. Not knowing the exact nature of his command of magic she wasn’t going to take any chances.  
When she took her seat he didn’t say anything at first, as he too seemed to be studying her. The Genie had told her that she might be better received if she toned down her normal queenly attire, but Regina dismissed the idea. She was queen after all and she should dress like one.  
“You are the one who took the book from where I placed it,” he stated.  
She wondered how he knew that, but didn’t deny it as she pulled it out of the satchel she carried and placed it front of her. She saw him shudder at the sight of it, much like the way the book made her feel.  
“I imagine many men lost their lives in its retrieval,” he said. “Tell me did you enter the cave as well?”  
“No, this is the first time I have been to your quaint country. I sent men to bring it back to me and yes many of them died, most actually.”  
“And those that returned the book to you, they didn’t last long afterward, did they?”  
“They did not.”  
He spoke with such assuredness that it put her on edge. Like the girl, this man did not seem intimidated by her at all. The book though, that scared him.  
“I ask again, why have you done this thing?”  
“I am interested in one of the spells in it.”  
“You are a foolish woman then.”  
“If I were you, I would watch my words.”  
“And if I were you, I would return that book to where it belongs and forget that you ever saw it in the light of day. No good can come of anything within its pages.”  
“I am afraid I can’t do that, which is why I am here. I was hoping to get some information about one of the spells and to do so I need to trace the origin of the book. Therefore I need to know where you found it.”  
“You would not believe me if I told you the truth of it.”  
”I can be surprisingly open-minded when it comes to magic.”  
“Where the book comes from matters not in this situation if I am not mistaken,” he said and he waved his hand in front of him causing the book to open and the pages to flip. It landed on the spell that Regina wanted to know about. She scrutinized him even more now, her eyes narrowing as she wondered who this man was.  
But it was his next words that caused her to be the first of them to blink.  
“Tell me of the one you lost.”  
Under his gaze she felt like he already knew the story and that all of this was nothing to him.   
“That is why you want to know about that spell in particular. You wish for the one you loved to return to you.”  
She didn’t say anything so he kept speaking.   
“That book, every spell in it is nothing but selfishness. You miss this person so you want them returned to you. To do so would be an act of selfishness because you have no idea if this person would want to be returned.”  
“He would not want to be dead,” she declared.  
“Again, I will tell you that the best thing for you is to return the book or leave it here and I will have it returned. You will not find what you are looking for within its pages.”  
“How can you be so sure?”  
“I too lost someone. And I know you won’t find what you are looking for because I am the last person to cast that particular spell. Believe me when I tell you that it doesn’t do what you think it does, or rather it doesn’t work like you think it should.”  
“Then what does it do?”  
“Tell me of the one you lost, and I will show you what the spell does.”  
Regina considered before speaking. This is what she came here for – to learn of the spell, but she didn’t talk about Daniel to people. She didn’t want to say the words because it would be like reliving his death over and over again – something she got enough of in her dreams in the immediate aftermath. Her mother had made her a potion to help her sleep without dreaming –not out of concern for her daughter’s wellbeing, more like concerned her daughter wouldn’t look well-rested for the king.   
Still, the potion helped and Regina had learned to make it herself and used it when the dreams of Daniel’s death returned. She wished she could find a potion so she only dreamed of the good times with him.   
She looked down at the book and the pages of the spell before raising her head.   
“His name was Daniel.”  
Regina went on to tell him how she had met Daniel, how they were going to get married and how he died because Snow couldn’t keep her mouth shut. He never said a word throughout the telling, and Regina realized she had probably gone into more detail with him than she had ever spoken to another human being.   
She expected to feel an overwhelming sadness at the telling, but instead she felt like she had just told the story to someone who truly understood her loss.  
She forced herself to feel the anger over Daniel’s death and she used that anger to pick up the book and shut it.   
“Now tell me what the spell does.”  
She saw a look of sorrow pass over his features and she realized that he felt sorry for her but she got the feeling it was not because of what she had said about Daniel.  
“I told you I would show you,” he said standing up. “Come, where we need to go is not far from here.”  
He gathered up his cloak and a walking staff and she put the book back in her satchel and followed him. They went down another path opposite of the way she came up.  
“Unlike you and your Daniel, I did not meet my love until I was in my late 30s,” he said as they walked. “Her name was Sarrah. She was younger than me, having just turned 18 when we met. I fell for her immediately. Her father was a well known caravan master who was responsible for much lucrative trade. Sarrah grew up on the caravans, constantly moving. I was around her for only a week that first time, but when she returned months later, I had not forgotten her and she had not forgotten me.”  
“I eventually asked her father for permission to marry her and it was granted. We married and she was happy, we were happy. A couple of years passed and we were expecting our first child. I was so eager to welcome this new life into our world. I knew I would spoil the child no matter if was a girl or boy. But when it came time for Sarrah to give birth something went wrong. The doctor said there was too much blood loss. They couldn’t save Sarrah and instead concentrated on the child.”  
He fell quiet a moment and Regina knew that was because the child died as well.  
“I lost everything that day,” he resumed. “I lost all that mattered to me. I tried to go on with work and tried to put it behind me, but there are some aches that won’t go away no matter how much you try to bury them. You know what I am speaking of.”  
She nodded to let him know that she did indeed know that ache.  
“I started to become obsessed with the idea that I could bring her back. There are enough tales in our culture that tell of someone returning from the dead. Yes, they were just stories, but many times stories have a kernel of truth in them. I wanted to find that truth. I quit my position with the court and I spent my days in research and left here all together to track down leads to a magic so powerful that I could bring Sarrah back to me. I learned of the existence of a book – one which was said to contain powerful spells that would even cross the death barrier. I spent all my time and resources into tracking down that book you now hold.”  
“Where did you find it?”  
“Where is not important,” he said. “I found it, and that is all that mattered. I can still remember what it felt like to hold it in my hands that first time. The feeling like very night could creep into your body and block out the sun forever. I read all the spells that first day – forgoing sleep and food. Once I was sure that the spell was the one I had been searching for, I began my preparation for casting it.”  
He stopped walking in front of a large rock that appeared to be half encased into the mountain side. “I wish I had the benefit of the knowledge I am giving you before I cast that spell. I would never have cast the spell if I had known everything in advance.”  
“What does the spell do?” she asked, feeling more and more uneasy about all of this.   
He waved his hand once more and the rock came out from the mountain revealing a cave. Next al’Hadinn used his magic to light a torch that was attached to the wall. He took it and went deep into the cave. He stopped in front of a cell that whose bars were made from stone that appeared from the ground and ceiling.  
It was dark despite by torchlight and she barely saw the movement before something crashed into the bars in front of her, causing her to take a step back.   
“I would like you meet my wife Sarrah,” he said.   
Regina took two steps forward to look at the woman. It was like seeing a feral animal. The woman actually growled at her and reached her hands through the bars like she wanted to grab Regina. Then just as quickly she retreated to the back of the cell, crouched down and began to wail. The noise alone made Regina want to leave that place. It was a sound of desperation like none she had ever heard before.   
Regina finally turned back to al-Hadinn. “The spell did that to her?”  
“I did that to her would be a more accurate statement,” he said. “As soon as she returned to life, I knew something was wrong. The light in her eyes was no longer there. But here was my beautiful wife returned from the dead that I turned a blind eye to what was happening. She turned resentful in my presence, didn’t want me to touch her or be near her. I thought she would get better that this was some sort of symptom of her returning to life. Instead she got worse and then one day I woke to find her standing over me with a knife. I barely moved in time to stop her from jamming into my chest. She kept saying ‘not the one.’ She cursed me for bringing her back. As she slowly regressed to a more primitive state she became a danger to herself and others so I had no choice but to cage her. I wanted to know if I had done something wrong, or if there was a way to help her.”  
“I sought out the man who had first given me the information about the book. He was a sorcerer, but he wanted to be more. He came here to look at Sarrah. I didn’t like this man. He was too nice, which didn’t fit with how I felt about him. I could see that he was in love with nothing but power. His name was Jafar. He told me he knew what went wrong with the spell and that he would tell me for a price, that being a recommendation from me to the sultan. Jafar wanted to be an advisor to the court. I felt I had no choice. I needed to know what was wrong with her and if I could fix it. Once the letter was penned by me he smiled that fake smile at me and said the problem was that mine and Sarrah’s souls were not a match.”  
He moved closer to the cell and Regina watched as Sarrah again charged at the bars. She could see the hatred in the woman’s eyes directed solely at al’Hadinn.   
“It made sense you know. You have read the spell; you know what it requires of the caster in order to bring the person’s soul back. It takes your willingness to bind your soul to the other person’s, to share a piece of yourself as it were. Sarrah is this way because our souls don’t match – we are not each other’s true loves. At least I am not hers and the love I have for her wasn’t enough to really bridge the divide. Not the one she said to me – it was the only way she had to verbalize what she must have been feeling.”  
“And at this point there was nothing I could do, nothing I could do to keep her from being this thing.”  
“Then why don’t you put her out of her misery?” Regina said.  
He turned to her. “Could you? If you perform this spell and the same thing happens to your Daniel because your souls are not a match, could you put him out of his misery as you put it?”  
“This won’t happen to him because he is my true love. Our souls are meant to be together.”  
“If you are so sure then cast the spell, bring him back. I wish you nothing but happiness. But if there is any doubt in your heart, then return the book or better yet destroy it. You don’t want your Daniel to become something like this.”

She left him alone after that, returning to her caravan and ordering it to return to Agrabah. Her thoughts were consumed with what she had seen. The image of Sarrah was stuck in her mind. That woman was something less than human now.   
And what if that should happen to Daniel?  
Could she take that risk?  
She thought back to the fairy Tinkerbell, who had shown her that man, the one with the tattoo. She had told her that was her soul mate. Did that mean her soul was matched up with that man’s not Daniel?   
No, she told herself. She had rejected that notion at the time, and she rejected it still. Daniel was her true love. She belonged with him and him alone.  
They returned to Agrabah but Regina found she was restless, unable to relax. She decided to go for a walk, clear her mind.   
She kept the book with her, not trusting to leave it in her room. She could still feel its power, and always did when it was near. The power felt wrong to her and that wasn’t something she was used to feeling. Her mother had taught her that all that mattered was power, but she wasn’t sure her own mother wouldn’t have cast this book aside if it had fallen into her possession.   
She could perform that spell – her abilities weren’t in doubt. But she cursed al’Hadinn for putting a different kind of doubt in her heart.   
Was she and Daniel truly a match?  
Regina was so lost in thought she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings until she felt someone collide with her. She fell to the ground only to see a pair of legs from away from her. She quickly got to her feet ready to fireball the offending party when she realized the satchel with the book was gone.  
The lithe figure running away from her had it.  
“Stop thief!” she yelled before running after them.

In the present  
Her phone beeping brought her back from the memory of that day. She looked at it – a text from Emma saying it was taking longer than she expected.  
Regina texted her back, telling her that the protection spell was in place, but it wouldn’t stop Emma from getting in the backdoor. She told her where the key was hidden outside and where the spare bedroom was. She texted her to let he know she was going to bed and did not want to be disturbed.  
Once that was done, Regina changed clothes and retired to her bed, lying there, but not sleeping.   
She thought about al’Hadinn, Sarrah, Daniel, and even Robin.   
She knew now the answer to al’Hadinn’s question of whether she could put Daniel out of his misery. She may not have cast the spell, but she had been forced to kill Daniel when she finally got him back here in Storybrooke.  
She thought about Emma – the future Emma whom she had found happiness with, whom she had married and had a child with.   
And the thought popped into her mind even if she didn’t want it to – if Daniel wasn’t her true love, if Robin wasn’t her soul mate, what did that make Emma?  
Could it be, she wondered, could Emma be her match?  
And did Rumple know it? Is that why he chose Emma to put her soul inside? Maybe it wasn’t because Emma could handle it due to being the savior.  
Maybe it was because their souls matched.


	32. Chapter 32

Emma knew she shouldn’t be getting aggravated with the elderly couple who had their store broken into, but the process of taking their statements for the report was going slow. She had already texted Regina to let her know it was taking longer than expected. She felt like if she could get the couple to give separate statements it would go faster as the wife kept interrupting whenever the husband tried to say anything.   
When the process was finally; and thankfully done, Emma left to go to the station to write up the report. It was probably the fastest she had ever typed of a report as she was in a hurry to get back to Regina’s.   
Ever since she found out Hook had been following Regina she had an uneasy feeling – a feeling that Regina was in danger. She couldn’t seem to shake it.  
She thought back to the question Regina had asked her after the last video – about why her future counterpart would think that in removing Regina’s soul that it would go back to her body and apparently come back to life. She had been in that Emma’s mind when she went through the astral projection and had felt that mind starting to slip. That Emma didn’t want to face reality and Emma had the feeling based on what the other future Emma had said that things must not have gotten better for her. After all, she had been living in Boston alone and apparently drinking a lot.   
So what had happened to cause that? Emma tried to put herself in that situation. She thought about how she might react if Regina had died and Henry had blamed her. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that she would not leave Henry in Storybrooke and go to Boston. There had to be something else to it.  
They had to be missing a big part of the story and at this point her only hope was for the videos to reveal some actual answers.   
If only she had taken the time to sit and listen to her future self while she was there. She hadn’t wanted to listen to her, hadn’t wanted to believe her future was with Regina. Seeing the two of them in those final moments when her future self asked Regina to kiss her though – it made her realize how much her future self loved her wife and how much she had lost when Emma had screwed up the timeline. She had literally taken away her future self’s life – her home, her spouse, her children, everything and replaced it with a future so horrifying that somehow future Emma had become the Dark One.   
Seeing that dagger with her name on it had been in the back of her mind since she had seen it. What had she done to possess it? Why had she done it? And what did that mean for Gold in the future?  
The many questions she didn’t have answers for were beginning to weigh heavily on her. She really wanted to go home to bed and sleep so that maybe she would wake up and this was all a bad dream. But she knew it wasn’t a dream and she knew she couldn’t go home, not while Regina’s life was in danger. If nothing else she had to accomplish protecting Regina – not just for the other woman’s sake, but for Henry as well. She knew she also owed it to the future Emma.  
Regina. It seemed like the brunette was never far from her mind nowadays. Not even just because of recent events either, she realized. Ever since she came to Storybrooke it seemed like she and Regina were constantly being thrown together in one way or another. They shared a son, and for a while there Emma had even thought they might be able to have some sort of friendship. They had worked together in Neverland, the hunt for their son bringing them closer together than they had been.   
Then that curse had sent everyone but her and Henry back to the Enchanted Forest and Emma had lived this whole other life with Henry – or so she thought. When she returned to Storybrooke it was with a Henry who didn’t remember Regina and that caused tension between the two women even if they didn’t voice it. Once Regina knew of her intention to return to New York with Henry, followed by her bringing Marian back and whatever they might have been had been destroyed.   
Would she really have been that jealous of Robin, she wondered? Would seeing those two together really spark her to ask Regina out? She knew she would never know the answers to those questions. Yet when Regina had asked her about her alternate future’s failure to understand that Regina would die once her soul was removed, the answer was clear to Emma. That Emma had loved Regina. That Emma didn’t want to face a life without her – couldn’t face a life without her so her mind simply would not process the truth of the situation.   
Two Emmas in love with two Reginas.  
Yet here she was and here Regina was and they weren’t even friends.   
She cleared her mind as best as she could and concentrated on finishing the report. As she left the station to walk to her car she stopped.  
“What are you doing here?” she asked Killian who was standing next to her car.  
“I came to talk to you.”  
“I think I made my thoughts about that very clear.”  
She tried to brush past him but he grabbed her arm. “Swan, hear me out.”  
She looked at him, wondering why exactly she had found him charming before, and then moved so he was forced to let her go. “Tell me why exactly you thought it would a good idea to follow Regina and what you know about why Gold had you doing it.”  
“I don’t know why he had me doing it, only that he could help me get my ship back.”  
“If you don’t know why then we have nothing to talk about,” she said trying to get to her car.  
“Wait,” he said. “Gold never said why he wanted her followed only that I should keep an eye on her and be aware of her movements. I asked him why the sudden interest in Regina and all he said was that she was in possession of something he needed. He said he might need help in retrieving it, but that is as far as the conversation went I swear. I assumed it was something magical because well it’s Gold and Regina, neither of whom can be trusted.”  
“Trust? You really want to talk about trust?”  
“So I followed her around for a few days, big deal. You were the one who was lying to me. Do you want to explain that or why you have been acting so strange lately?”  
“Killian, you of all people should know not to get involved with Gold, yet you did because of your stupid ship, a ship you were all about touting how you gave up for me. I don’t even understand how you think you are in the right here.”  
“I never said I was in the right.”  
“Fine, you didn’t, but I also don’t see you apologizing for your actions. You know Gold’s history; do you really think that whatever it is that he wants from Regina is a good thing? Do you think that turns out well for anyone involved? The problem is you didn’t think about these things, all you thought about was what you wanted.”  
“All I want is you.”  
“You don’t get to have me,” Emma said. “I don’t even know why I am talking to you right now or what I ever saw in you. When I first met you I couldn’t stand you, but I honestly thought you had changed. I really thought that here is a guy who isn’t going to bail on me, who genuinely cares for me and he is trying to prove that. But that’s not the case. If it was you would never have considered doing this. Damn it Killian, Regina is Henry’s mother – how would you explain things to him if your actions led to her being hurt?”  
“You are Henry’s mother,” Hook said. “Don’t you see that if I get my ship back it gives me a chance to build a life, build a life for you, me and Henry?”  
“And what about Regina?”  
“What about her? You were ready to go back to New York with Henry and you didn’t seem to care about her opinion then, what changed?”  
“What changed is that I realized my home is here in Storybrooke because my family is here and that family includes Regina. Henry loves her and she loves him more than anything else in this world. When it comes to Henry, she and I are his parents and we will make decisions about him together going forward.”  
“Would you be saying that if Neal was still here?”  
Emma took a step back. “You are unbelievable,” she said. “And for the record, yes I would if Neal was here and if he was here, well Neal was a good guy and he would understand that Henry is a good kid because Regina raised him to be a good kid. Now out of my way.”  
She didn’t wait for his reaction, getting into her car and pulling away. She was angry even as she got farther away from the station. Her anger wasn’t just at Hook, but at herself for letting herself get drawn in by him in the first place. He hadn’t changed from the pirate she had first met. No, she had seen what she wanted to see in him and it turned out to be a lie.  
She wasn’t upset over ending the relationship; she was upset for starting it in the first place.  
Emma ended up not driving straight to Regina’s house. She wanted to calm down first and decided to stop her place to pack some clothes for a couple of days. She wasn’t sure how long she would need to stay at Regina’s but she could always return here for more clothes if needed. Once packed, she returned to her car – taking extra looks all around her to make sure she wasn’t being followed by Killian.   
When she arrived at Regina’s she didn’t go in immediately, instead she took a stroll along the perimeter of her property just as a precaution. The moment she passed through the protective barrier she felt the magic and the hair on her arms stood up from the sensation. The house was dark from the outside and Emma assumed that Regina had gone to sleep as she said she would. She entered through the back door, trying to remember the exact layout of the room -- taking only one misstep and then she made her way upstairs to the guest room that Regina had told her she could use. She turned on the light and placed her bag on the bed before turning around and heading back out of the room. The hall was dark, lit only by the light from under the guest room door that she had just shut.  
Emma approached Regina’s bedroom door and she leaned in to listen for any sounds. After not hearing anything, she gently knocked and waited – no answer. Emma mentally told herself that she needed to check to make sure Regina was actually in the room so she reached for the doorknob and paused. She thought about stepping away but she turned the knob and entered the room. She could make out in the darkness that Regina was laying on the bed.   
Instead of immediately leaving she moved closer to the bed – eventually standing right there looking down at Regina, who was lying on her side.   
She tried to put herself in that alternate future Emma’s shoes and not for the first time she wondered would she have struck back at Regina like that Emma had done, would she have fought Regina for custody? To her shame, she realized she would have, almost had. When Hook had given her that potion to restore her memories and she had returned to Storybrooke she was afraid that it meant that Regina would fight her for custody when she wanted to take Henry back to New York. The thought had crossed her mind, even if it was briefly, and so she knew that it was possible.  
Then she thought about the other future Emma, the one that married Regina and the one she had practically hated. Her mind again flashed to the final moment that Regina shared with that Emma. There was love there and it scared Emma when she realized that it wasn’t just on that Emma’s part. In those few days Regina had developed feelings for that Emma – and what did that mean exactly?  
She finally turned around and left.   
As soon as the door closed Regina opened her eyes. She hadn’t been able to get to sleep despite feeling tired, but when she heard Emma knock on the door she had made sure to make it look like she was asleep – trying to keep her breathing even so Emma wouldn’t know she was awake. But she couldn’t figure out why Emma lingered in the room. To her it felt like nearly half an hour passed.  
She rolled over onto her back and looked up at the ceiling, her mind unable to move from the fact that Emma Swan would be sleeping in the room down the hall from her. Emma Swan, the woman whose life right now was intertwined with hers, and whose future may very well be just was intertwined with hers.


	33. Chapter 33

Emma hadn’t slept well, whether it was because she was sleeping in a strange bed or because of the stress of the situation she found herself in, she wasn’t sure. When she finally got out of bed, she left the room glancing at Regina’s door which was closed. She knocked on it, but after hearing no response she opened it.   
The bed was neatly made and Emma assumed that meant Regina was already up. She made her way downstairs, heading to the kitchen where she hoped there was some coffee to be made. There was Regina sitting at the table with her own cup of coffee in front of her. One look at the mayor and Emma knew she wasn’t the only one who hadn’t slept well.   
“Coffee?” Emma asked.  
“The cups are in the cabinet directly above the coffee machine.”  
Emma walked past her and poured her own cup and then took a seat opposite of Regina. Neither said anything as Emma got her first sips of coffee.  
“I need to take a shower and then we can resume watching the videos.”  
Regina’s eyes were on her cup, but Emma could see she was thinking about something before saying it. As fiery as the Regina could be at times when she got angry or emotional, Emma had noticed that Regina could also be thoughtful and yes calculating. She wondered which Regina she was dealing with this morning.  
“I need to go into the office and get some work done,” Regina said. “I’ve neglected too much with all of this going on. It would probably be best if the sheriff also went into work today.”  
“Ok, so you want to watch the videos after work?”  
Regina, who had been fidgeting with the cup in front of her now moved it aside, and looked at Emma.  
“I think it would be best if we left the videos alone all together. I believe your future self succeeded in her mission to keep me from being killed now that I know what to expect. It’s not as if you and I are going to be fighting for custody of Henry so I think that the future has changed significantly enough that those videos no longer matter. That timeline no longer exists. I think we can both get on with our lives now.”  
Emma wasn’t sure she was hearing Regina correctly at first.   
“You don’t know that the timeline has changed,” Emma said. “What proof do you have of that? Your life could still be in danger. We just found out that Killian has been following you around under Gold’s instructions.”  
“Yes and Hook knows that I know that which means Gold knows that I know that so I would say that whatever he was planning, he is no longer planning it.”  
“You don’t know that. Besides this is Gold we are talking about. Just because one of his plans isn’t working doesn’t mean he doesn’t have another one or won’t try to come at you a different way. When I left the station last night Killian was waiting for me. He wanted to talk, but I wouldn’t let him. I did ask him why Gold had him following you. He claimed he didn’t know, saying that Gold said you had something he wanted, you don’t think that means your soul?”  
Regina stood up signaling that she at least was done with this conversation. “My life has been disrupted enough in the past weeks. As has yours I imagine, which means Henry’s life has been disrupted. If nothing else we need to get back a sense of normalcy for him. Normalcy is getting on with our lives. Now that I know about the threat I can make my own safeguards. I appreciate your concern, I do, but I think it’s best if we let things get back to normal.”   
Regina started to walk away and Emma was immediately on her feet. “And what exactly is normal?” Emma asked, stopping Regina. “What about our lives screams normal? I would really like to know because I am not seeing it. If you think that I can walk away and not continue to look into this, you are wrong.”  
“I didn’t say you had to stop. I am telling you that I am done,” Regina said. “None of it matters anymore. The future has changed.”  
She started to walk away again, making it to the door where she turned. “Let’s be realistic about this,” she said. “You can’t stay here forever watching over me to make sure Gold isn’t going to try something. Our lives … they simply aren’t compatible. We have two shared concerns, our son and this town and that is it. Those are the two things you and I can at least agree to work together on. Again, I appreciate that you want to help, but I don’t see where it’s needed. I’ve lived long enough to know how to take care of myself. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ready for work as should you.”  
Emma was left standing there. She sat back down at the table trying to reason out why the sudden change in Regina since the day before. Emma wasn’t stupid, she could tell all of this was weighing on Regina – she knew it the moment she saw Regina holding that spell book in the mausoleum. There were depths of sadness in this woman that Emma wondered if she had ever let anyone really know how deep that sorrow ran.   
But even after the mausoleum Regina had been willing to watch the videos still so what changed?  
Emma knew there was only one way to find out – ask the source.  
She took another drink of her coffee and went back upstairs. She knocked on the door to Regina’s bedroom and a moment later Regina opened it.  
“Do you want to explain again why you are looking to give up?”  
“I hardly think it is a matter of me giving up.”  
“From where I am standing it sure seems like it. What’s this all about? Is this because you really think the future changed or is it because the future you wanted has changed so why bother anymore?”  
Regina took a step back and had the briefest look of shock before her features hardened. “Maybe a better question is why you want to continue looking into this at all. After all, you got the future you wanted so why would you want to mess with that?”  
“First of all neither you nor I know what the future is right now and unless you have added seeing into the future as one of your skills neither of us is ever really going to know what the future is in this instance. But you were right down there, we do have a common concern and that is Henry and if you think that I am going to simply step aside when I believe there is still a risk that Gold is going to do something to you then you are crazy. So watch the videos or don’t, but I am not going to stop until I know what the hell is going on here. He had you killed, is that even registering in your mind. He stole your soul and put it in that version of me in order to do what, create a vessel? There has to be a purpose behind it and I am going to find out what that is. It would be a whole lot easier for me to figure out with your help. I don’t understand all of this magic crap and while I know Gold enough not to trust him, you have known him and motivations a lot longer. Get this through your head, I am not leaving.”  
Emma stared at Regina, challenging her to say something in return but when she didn’t she spoke up again. “And don’t you ever say to me that I got the future I wanted. I don’t want a future with you being dead. If I wanted that, I wouldn’t be here now. Have a nice day at work madame mayor.”  
She walked away, her anger still bubbling at the surface so she slammed the door to the guest bedroom behind her for emphasis.   
……………………………………………………………………….  
Despite actually having work that needed to get done, Regina found it hard to concentrate once she got into the office. She kept thinking about what Emma had said, especially the last part about it not being the future she wanted. She tried not to read too much into the comment, but it kept hovering around the edges of her mind.   
She had left home while Emma was still there. She had no idea if the sheriff would be going into work or merely staying at her house watching those videos. It wasn’t that Regina wasn’t curious about what was on them, but she was also increasingly apprehensive.   
Maybe it was her recollection of speaking with Al’hadinn but the way she felt after seeing him was how she now felt while watching the videos – like she was delving into a world of magic that she had no wish to be a part of.   
As it turned out, even she had her limits when it came to what she would do with magic.   
But Gold, Gold didn’t have such limits. Of that she was sure. The man was simply capable of anything. Emma may be right in that she had known Gold longer but that didn’t mean she had any idea as to what he might be up to. When he had first gotten her to retrieve that spell book she hadn’t known what he wanted with that living magic spell and she still didn’t.   
The spell book – she had it with her there at the office. It was in her lower, locked drawer and like always when it was near her it was like she could feel it. She didn’t want it anywhere near her but at the same time since removing it from the mausoleum she didn’t feel safe having it be anywhere but near her. She couldn’t fully explain it, just that it had laid in the mausoleum for years and even back in the Enchanted Forest she had kept it hidden away. She had used her magic to mask its presence so no other magic user would be able to find it and even keep non-magical people from stumbling upon it accidentally.   
She had locked it away immediately after returning from Agrabah. She wasn’t about to risk it falling into someone’s hands, not after the trouble with getting it back from the thief who stole it from her in the street.

“Stop thief,” Regina had yelled as she took off running after the figure, who already had a substantial lead on her.   
She saw the thief disappear around a corner and Regina used her magic to transport herself around the same corner. When she reappeared she was closer but not close enough that she felt safe in using her magic against the offender. She was in a strange city which made her wary to use her magic at all but she needed to get that book back.   
The chase continued through several more streets until the thief turned down an alley. Regina entered the alley as the thief bounded up a wall. She called up a fireball and threw it at the wall, intentionally missing, but it had the desired affect as the thief stopped, perched on top of the wall.   
Regina had another fireball ready in her hand as she moved forward. “Give me back the satchel and I won’t turn you into a roast.”  
The thief laughed. “You are faster than I expected Regina, although you cheated a little back there using magic to transport yourself.”  
“You know who I am?” Regina asked as she again moved closer. She wanted to make sure she was in range to hit this thief, who she now realized was a woman since she had spoken. The woman wore a cloak with a hood and the way she had her head held the night shadows were concealing most of her features so Regina was unsure as to what she looked like. “Well thief if you know who I am you know I am not someone who you should cross.”  
“I am not here to cross you. In fact I am here to help you.”  
“Is that so? Why don’t you come down here so we can speak then?”  
“Because I am not stupid,” the thief said. “Don’t worry I have every intention of giving you your satchel back.”  
“Oh, I know you will,” Regina said tiring of this so she threw the fireball at the woman. Again she wasn’t aiming it at her directly but it just below where her one leg was dangling. Regina immediately called up another fire ball.  
“Careful,” the thief said dangling the satchel. “You might end up hitting something.”  
Regina let the fire extinguish in her hand. “What do you want?”   
“A moment of your time. I promise you that it is worth it.”  
“Come down from there and we will talk.”  
The woman hesitated a moment before getting down. She was standing close to the wall so the shadows were still concealing her features from Regina although she saw a wisp of blonde hair peek out from the hood.  
“This book is a dangerous one,” the woman said. “It’s also an important one, but not for you.”  
“Did you steal it to take it to someone who will find use in it?” Regina said feeling uncomfortable with how self-assured this thief was. She did not seem to be the least bit intimidated by her, and Regina was beginning to wonder if the thief was from Al’Hadinn’s people. After all the people in that camp also did not seem to be afraid of her.   
There was nothing about the woman’s stance that made Regina believe that this thief was even remotely prepared if Regina should use her magic on her. It made her wonder if that was because she didn’t expect to be attacked by Regina or if she had some other defense.   
“No,” the thief said. “In fact I am going to give it back to you in a moment.”  
“Then why steal it at all?”  
Regina got the sense the woman was smiling at her even though she couldn’t see it.  
“I stole it in order to spend a little time with you. We aren’t going to see each other for many years,” the thief said. “But when we do see each other it’s going to be important that you still have this book. You need to hide it, place a spell on it to mask its appearance from any other who may come searching for it. And most importantly you need to keep it from Rumplestiltskin.”  
The use of his name put Regina on guard and she glanced around her. Her back was to the open alley and she had been less than careful this entire time but now she was worried.   
“He has what he needs from the book already,” Regina said. She hoped that the woman would end up revealing something if Regina gave her that bit of information.  
“Just keep it away from him,” the woman warned. “Hide it like I said so that it’s there when it’s needed. Hide to ensure that you and I meet again.”  
“Why don’t you stop talking in riddles?”  
The woman stepped closer to her and Regina finally was able to make out what she looked like. What she wasn’t expecting was for what the woman did next – she moved in close and before Regina could react the woman was kissing her. Regina was so shocked she just stood there – her mind not able process it.   
The woman took a step back and smiled at the dumbstruck Regina.  
“I guess that is technically our first kiss. It won’t be our last.”  
The thief tossed the satchel at Regina’s feet and climbed back up the wall and over. 

In her office, Regina suddenly stood up as she fully remembered that strange encounter so many years ago.  
“It’s not possible,” she said out loud. It wasn’t possible that Emma had been in her past.   
But it was Emma. 

……………………………………………………………………………..

Emma was sitting in her office when Regina came rushing in.  
“What’s wrong?”   
Regina looked around and then shut the office door. She sat down on the chair in front of the desk only to get back up and began to pace.   
“I don’t know how you did it, or rather she did it, but … it’s unfathomable.”  
“Regina calm down. What’s wrong?”  
“Your future self, she traveled into the past, the far past. My past. I don’t know why she chose that moment or why she didn’t explain more. But she did it. She must have used her powers as the Dark One to do it. She wasn’t being that clear when she was speaking and she is lucky I didn’t fireball her ass. Still, I remember that encounter and for whatever reason I did what she said. That is why I hid the book all this time.”  
“Whoa, back up. I am confused. Future me went back to the past again?”  
“Yes, I think she did to warn me about that spellbook. She wanted to keep it hidden and I did all this time.”  
“Would you please sit down,” Emma said finding it hard to follow along with the obviously anxious mayor. Regina took a seat. “Start from the beginning and tell me what is going on.”  
Regina started from the beginning – telling Emma about how she had traveled in Agrabah in order to talk to Al’Hadinn. She told her all about what Al’Hadinn had told her and about Sarrah. She did not tell her about her thought that maybe it wasn’t Daniel’s soul that was her match, and maybe it was Emma’s. There were some things she decided that were best not to mention.  
She already knew how this Emma regarded her and there was no real reason to bring up that theory. This wasn’t the Emma who loved her. She had lost that one when she went back to the future.  
Emma sat and listened throughout, not asking any questions or interrupting until the very end.  
“Wait, you are sure that was me?”  
“Not you, you, future you.”  
“I think I need a drink,”   
“Me too.”

Regina had gone back to work shortly after telling Emma about her future self. The sheriff’s office had gotten a call of an injury accident and Emma had to go out to it. Regina wasn’t getting much work done however. She kept playing that past encounter with Emma over and over again in her mind trying to figure out the meaning behind on what she said. She had briefly wondered why Emma just hadn’t been more straight forward with her, but then she realized if Emma had tried her past self probably would have fireballed her for being a crazy person.  
She also thought about that kiss and couldn’t help but smile. Even coming back into the past during her time as queen, future Emma still managed to totally disarm her with a kiss.   
There were still many questions in her mind, such as why Emma didn’t come back here to this time again. There had to be a specific reason in mind for going back there.   
Yes, Regina had hid that book away for years, but until now she wouldn’t have definitively said it had to do with that strange encounter. It merely made sense she had convinced herself all those years ago – she didn’t want anyone to get their hands on that book. Now she was forced to at least consider that the reason she had done it was because some thief who she had thought looked beautiful had kissed her and hinted that they would see each other again if she indeed hid the book.  
The whole thing was giving her a headache.

As much as Emma wanted to rush over the Regina’s after work, she didn’t. She knew Regina had picked up Henry because her mother had texted her to let her know. The fact Regina hadn’t bothered to tell her wasn’t why she was sitting in her office now debating on what she should say to Regina when she did come over.  
No, what was keeping her there was what Regina had told her. Or rather the misconception about it that she believed Regina had about it.  
She had all afternoon to think over it and she had come to one simple, if not jarring conclusion.  
That wasn’t future Emma who had gone back to the past. It was her.  
She had thought it all through. How would future Emma know about the book at all, or know that Regina had been in Agrabah?   
In the timeline that Emma was from she was married to Regina. They were happy so at what point would that book have ever come up? She was fairly sure that if it weren’t for the exact circumstances they were in now that book would still be hidden in Regina’s mausoleum. Even if future Emma learned of it when she left this present time to go back to that other alternate future that was a future where Regina was no longer alive so it came back to how would she know?  
As for the other alternate future Emma, well Emma had been in that woman’s head and she was sure that even if that Emma learned of the book the way she approached Regina in Agrabah would not be how it came about. That Emma was so broken up over Regina’s death and whatever happened to her life afterward that she was unstable. That Emma would not have played some game with Regina, she would have told her everything in an effort to keep Regina from dying.  
That is also what bothered her about the realization that it was her that had gone back in time. Why would she go back in time to warn about the book if Regina was still alive in the current timeline?  
She had too many questions, and she needed the answers, which is what finally got her moving. She was driving to Regina’s house thinking of whether she should tell Regina what she believed. As she was pulling into the driveway she decided to wait to see if Regina had come to the realization yet that it couldn’t have been the future Emma.

She entered the home, not bothering to knock or anything. She still had the spare key which she had used to lock up this morning after she left for work. She had gone as far as putting it on her key chain in part so she didn’t lose it, but the other part was so that maybe Regina would notice and realize she wasn’t ready to say the future had changed and it was time to move on.  
Her hope was that Regina would at least see this memory of seeing her in the past as another reason to continue on focusing on investigating what happened in that alternate timelime. Not that there should be need for another reason, Emma thought. She was still confused as to why Regina decided to give up. Maybe she would be able to get a clearer answer from her tonight.  
“Hey mom,” Henry said as she hung her coat up.  
“Hey kid, where is your other mom?”  
“In the kitchen finishing up dinner. She is making lasagna.”  
“Sounds great.”  
“Yeah, it’s really good. She mentioned you were staying here for a bit, but she vague as to why besides saying it had something with to with that future you that was here. Is one of you going to fill me in?”  
Emma sighed. She didn’t exactly know how to explain what was going on and she didn’t want Henry drug into it if she could help it. Still the kid was smart, and also not likely to take no for answer.  
“Let’s go sit,” she said. They took seats on the couch which gave Emma no time to actually figure out what to say so she decided on the truth, or at least part of it.  
“Look when I brought Marian back it changed things. Marian was supposed to have died back there in the past in the Enchanted Forest. When I brought her here it changed what would have happened if she had remained dead in the past. Specifically it changed things for Regina. That future me that was here, she came back to warn me and your mom that the changes that happened, well they weren’t good but I didn’t want to listen to even myself about it. I should have listened to my future self more than what I did. Now she is gone and Regina and I are trying to put the pieces together of what she did tell us so we can prevent something bad from happening.”  
Henry had a thoughtful look on his face that reminded Emma of Regina.   
“Is something bad going to happen to my mom if you don’t figure it out?”  
“Nothing is going to happen to her. That is why I am staying here for a bit, to make sure that nothing does. I know in the past your mom and I haven’t always gotten along but we’re working toward a common goal now.”  
“Can I help?”  
“Sorry kid, I don’t see anyway for you to help at this point, except to keep an eye on things during times I am not here. You should also know that Hook and I are no longer seeing each other.”  
“Why not?”  
“He isn’t the person I thought he was,” Emma said. “I thought he was someone who could be trusted and it turns out he wasn’t. I don’t expect any trouble from him, but if he should show up here at anytime when I am not around, you call me immediately. I don’t want him around you or Regina. Can you do that for me?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Good. Now let’s go see if dinner is ready.”

Dinner for the most part was quiet, although Emma had two giant pieces of lasagna which earned her a small smile from Regina when she complimented her on how good the food was. After dinner Emma and Henry watched a movie. Emma had asked Regina if she wanted to join them but she said she had some more work to complete and she disappeared into her home office.  
When the movie was over Henry went upstairs to his room and Emma went to find Regina. She knocked on the door before entering and found Regina was sitting at her desk, the spell book open in front of her.  
“What are you doing with that thing?”  
“I am trying to decipher the other spells in it?”  
“Um, first off I thought that was in a language you couldn’t read and secondly, why are you looking at other spells?”  
“I can’t read it, but I know what the one spell says so I was hoping I could use the translation of it as a key of sorts to figure out others.”  
“How is that working for you?”  
“Not well,” Regina sighed. “I fear the only way to decipher it will be to go see Sydney.”  
“Sydney, as in crazy reporter type who is a little creepy when it comes to you?”  
“Yes, he’s in the asylum since that unfortunate incident a couple of years ago.”  
“Is that what you are going to call it? You know what, never mind, it’s in the past. You still haven’t answered my other question – why are you looking at the other spells.”  
“Your future self came back to my past to warn me to keep this spell book hidden and that it would be important for when we met again. I just met her again here in this time so I can only assume the book is needed for something.”  
Yep, Emma thought, she still thinks it was that other Emma. She licked her lips hoping to bring forth some sort of inspiration to tell Regina what she suspected.  
“She said it was important you had the book, not that you use it in someway.”  
“What is the point of a spell book if you aren’t going to use it? The use of it makes it important.”  
Emma was far from convinced.  
“You’ve said yourself that book has some bad mojo so why don’t you set it aside for now at least and we can continue to do what future Emma instructed us to do which was watch the videos.”  
“I maintain that things have changed enough that those videos are no longer applicable. If they were, I would imagine that future Emma would have hinted at that when she was in Agrabah.”  
“Yeah because an ancient city is the right place to tell you to get out your laptop and watch some videos,” Emma said not bothering to disguise her sarcasm. “Those videos have to be important or she wouldn’t have told us to watch them.”  
“She told you to watch them so feel free to take my laptop and go watch them in another room. I will continue to examine this book.   
“Wow,” Emma said. “You really don’t want to watch these videos. Why?”  
“I told you.”  
“I’m not buying it,” Emma said. She was standing in front of Regina’s desk her arms crossed. She wasn’t about to leave until she got some answers from Regina, some real answers. “What has changed in the last 24 hours that you are now willing to ignore the one clue we have from the future – those videos.”  
“It’s not our only clue,” Regina said. “We also know this spellbook is important.”  
“Yes, but before you had that epiphany that some long time ago encounter was with me, you were ready to say screw the videos and get on with your life. Now you are back to trying to figure things out, but you are focusing entirely on a book you can’t even read. Help me out here because I fail to see where this makes any sense whatsoever.”  
“I don’t have to explain myself to you,” Regina shot back.   
“No you don’t, but how about explaining it to our son who only wants to know that his mom is going to be alright.”  
“You shouldn’t have told him what you did,” she said. “Yes, I heard the conversation. I was coming to tell Henry that dinner was ready but I heard your voice so I didn’t enter the room. You shouldn’t have made him worry.”  
“Maybe I shouldn’t have, but not telling him anything wasn’t the answer either. If Henry was here right now instead of me and he asked you why you aren’t watching the videos, what would you say?”  
“The same thing I have said to you. Do you really have that hard of a time listening?”  
“Only when I know someone isn’t being straight forward with me.”  
“If you aren’t going to go elsewhere, then perhaps I shall,” Regina said. She stood, taking the spell book with her and walked around her desk to head toward the door. Emma grabbed her arm as she tried to stride by.  
“Unhand me.”  
“Then tell me why. Tell me why you don’t want to watch the videos.”  
“They are not important.”  
“Bull shit. Try another one.”  
“I just don’t care to, is that ok with you?”  
“No, it’s not.”  
Regina tried to pull from Emma’s grip unsuccessfully. “Let go of me.”  
“I will as soon as you answer the question.”  
Regina struggled once more, dropping the spell book in the process. “Let go.”  
“No,” Emma yelled and she grabbed Regina’s other arm as well. She was quickly losing her patience. “Why don’t you want to watch the videos?”  
“Because I don’t want to see you get hurt,” Regina yelled back.   
Emma released her. “What do you mean you don’t want to see me get hurt?”  
“Not you, you, but the future you from the videos,” Regina said. “The idea that she thinks there is some way out of this with me, well future me, coming back to life once the soul is removed, I don’t want to see what happens next because I know what is going to happen next.”  
“How do you know?”  
“Because … because I know what I would say to her in this instance. I would tell her the truth, the harsh truth. I wouldn’t hold back in order for her to understand that this is the end of the line for me. I don’t want to hear myself tell her this, or see her reaction.”  
Emma watched her as she spoke, and knew immediately that Regina was telling the truth. Watching the videos was something she didn’t think she could do.  
Emma nodded, “Ok. I will watch the next set of videos. I will let you know if there was anything important in them. But after she is told the truth and her reaction passes, I would appreciate it if you would continue watching the videos with me. I don’t understand all of this magic and vessel stuff. I can’t do this without you.”  
Regina bent down and retrieved the spell book. “Let me know when I am needed.”  
She didn’t say anything else as she left the room.  
Emma went to sit at the desk, pulling Regina’s laptop in front of her and opening it. As the computer booted up she thought about Regina’s reasoning for not wanting to watch the videos, and she realized that she too had no desire to watch it. But she knew she had to.  
Once the computer was ready she clicked on the file that Regina had paused as they hadn’t finished watching it.

“I am assuming there is some magicky thing that needs to be done with it first,” Emma said. “I wish Henry was speaking with me so that I could tell him that I am going to fix this, that I am going to bring his mom back. Maybe this means we can have a second chance too.”

The video ended and Emma hesitated before starting the next one. Her alternate future self was delusional when it came to what was going on. She did believe in her assessment that she had given Regina – this Emma was in love with her and didn’t want to face the reality of losing her again.   
While she didn’t want to watch what happened next, she hit play.

The Emma who appeared on the screen was sitting up, her back straight, looking directly into the camera.   
“Miss Swan. Emma,” she said her features softening a little. “You must know that there is nothing that can be done about my body. It’s dead. I am dead. I am not supposed to be here any longer. But you are and so is this child inside of you, and that is all that matters now.”  
She looked away from the camera a moment before speaking again.  
“The bit of me that is still here, my soul, whether I deserve it or not, I need for you to help me to put my soul to rest. It’s time. After all I have done in my life – all the bad, well maybe I have no right to expect my soul should to go to a final resting place, but it’s what I want. I am sorry if that is painful for you to hear, but it’s the truth. All I can dare hope for is that Henry grows up to have a good life and that he is happy and one day has a family of this own. I wish you only happiness as well. But to have that you know what you need to do. You need to do what I am asking you to do. And once it is done, you need to repair things with Henry. He lost one of his mothers, he doesn’t need to lose the other one. He may be mad at you now but it’s because of the hurt he is feeling. He will come around, just don’t give up on him.”  
“Now, I need to start going through the spell books you brought up, so I am sorry for taking control like this, but it has to be done. I hope it doesn’t cause you undo stress. I will talk to you again soon.”

The video turned off and Emma paused before starting the next. It was not the harsh talk she had been expecting. If anything Regina seemed to be holding back, or trying to lessen the blow. Maybe that Regina knew she needed to tread a little lightly when it came to this Emma’s mental state.  
She moved to the next video and was about to hit play until she noticed the time stamp information on it. It was nearly two months since the last video. Why such a large gap, she wondered. Even if that Emma hadn’t wanted to use the videos, surely Regina would have taken control of her body at some point during that time in order to record something. She activated the video hoping for some explanation.

An exhausted looking Emma came on the screen, but again she was sitting in an almost perfect, stiff-backed way.  
“I am tired of going round and round with you,” Regina said. “The manner of my death shouldn’t be your concern. It’s over and done with. You have to stop this. You need to start taking better care of yourself. If not for you, for your child. This is the last time I am going to tell you no. I mean it Emma, stop asking me these questions. I will not answer them.”

The video stopped. Emma considered it for a moment. Apparently the two women had been communicating during the gap but the videos weren’t there. Why? Did the alternate future Emma delete them, or did future Emma delete them for some reason? Either way, why delete them at all? From what Regina had said Emma must have been asking about how Regina died and it occurred to her that this Emma didn’t know the full story. How could she have and still been on speaking terms with Killian? Regina obviously didn’t want to tell her, and she had to wonder why that was as well. Shouldn’t Regina want people to know the truth?   
She went to the next video.

“Don’t give me ultimatums,” Emma said. “We’ve been through this. Your ability to affect this world is minimal now, which means I am in control here. If you want me to do this soul thing then the price is answers from you. You don’t have the upper hand here Regina, I do, and it’s time you start to recognize that.”  
“You may be in my body and speaking through me, but I still know when you are lying. You didn’t commit suicide and you do remember what happened when you were shot so don’t bother trying those lies out again. I want the truth of what happened that night. I know Gold had something to do with it, yet I haven’t confronted him about it because you asked me to stay away from him. I respected your wishes on that but I am done doing that if you don’t tell me what happened. He knows. Hell, I should confront him for nothing else to find out why he stuck your soul in my body. It’s like you said he is the only who could have done that. You see I do listen when you speak despite you saying otherwise.”  
“So here is an ultimatum for you. You tell me what I want to know within the next 48 hours or I go have a word with Gold. It’s your choice.”

She moved onto the next video which was dated about 36 hour later.

“Fine,” Regina said. “You want to know what happened, I will tell you. But I preface this again by telling you that this is meaningless. I am dead, just let it go. You can’t prove their involvement and if you could, what good would it do you. You can’t merely lock away the Dark One. He is too powerful which is why I asked you to stay away from him. No good can come from this.”  
Regina went on to tell about Gold’s visit to her followed by Killian showing up and shooting her. She explained how Gold must have used magic on the gun in order for it to appear to be empty or maybe it was empty but he used magic to get the bullet in there when needed. She then went on to describe in detail what it was like to be lying there on the ground dying.   
Emma was forced to pause it at one point because hearing her explain what it was like to be trapped there on the floor with her mind not knowing what was happening exactly, but still feeling this terror, it was too much for Emma to listen to in one straight sitting. She got up and went to the kitchen to get a bottle of water, all the time thinking about how the Regina of this time had experienced all of that as well.   
When she returned she was thankful that Regina refrained from going on longer about what it was like. Regina then explained how she wasn’t entirely aware of anything when she was first placed in Emma’s body. She conjectured it must have happened quickly after her death because souls move on quickly when they aren’t tethered to a body.   
“I don’t know exactly when I first realized I was in your body,” Regina said. “It’s not like I can see what you see exactly or anything like that. It was more like I was floating in a ocean with no land in sight and no stars in the sky to guide me. Slowly though I became aware of feelings and thoughts. Usually these were thoughts directed at me or about me and it was like whenever one of these happened I could move toward it, not in the physical sense, but somehow it brought me closer to the surface of understanding that I still existed in this form and this form was no longer its own familiar one, but one that was ok to be in. I am not explaining this well I know, but it’s not easy to convey what it feels like to me. The more you thought about me or were talking to me with these videos the stronger sense of self-awareness I got until the time I was able to take over your body that first time. It feels weird controlling your body because it’s not my own. Yet I don’t feel like I need to be at war with it either. When Neal and his father were inhabiting the same form, well obviously Gold seemed to be insane and for Neal, well I gather from what you have said it was downright painful for him at the end. I don’t feel that way, but at the same time we can’t afford to think that it won’t eventually happen that way. We would be fools not to think that.”


	34. Chapter 34

Emma stopped the video and stood to get Regina. With the gap in time from the videos there was no reaction from her alternate self to Regina telling her the truth which meant the Regina of now wouldn’t be subjected to it. She was glad she didn’t have to see it as well, but she was more relieved that Regina didn’t. The other woman obviously didn’t want to face that moment.  
She ended up sitting back down instead of going to get Regina. She needed some time to gather her own thoughts and for some reason she found her thoughts kept going back to Regina in Agrabah. Not her meeting her there, but what Regina had told her about Al’Haddin.   
That story was yet another example of how Daniel’s death affected Regina. He was killed her mother and she had blamed it on Snow – setting off years of hatred, bitterness and a quest for revenge that had led them all here to Storybrooke. It was his death that drove her into learning magic from Rumplestiltskin and seeking out Victor Frankenstein. Now to hear this tale of Al’Haddin, Emma felt like she had a better sense of who Regina was.  
She was someone who had loved Daniel so deeply that nothing in her life was enough to fill that hole in her heart.  
Yes, Regina had Henry, but that was a different kind of love.   
Emma knew in her own life she had never loved anyone like Regina must have loved Daniel. Yes she had loved Neal and she was devastated when he died, but she couldn’t say that it was an all encompassing pain.   
She wondered if she would ever find a love like that.  
Even as the thought popped into her head she thought of her future self and her obvious love for Regina. The two of them had married despite all the odds that were against that ever happening. That Emma had been so devastated by losing Regina by death, but because her time line suddenly disappeared that she had somehow become the Dark One and traveled back in time to try and fix it.  
Again Emma felt regret over not being more open minded when it came to her future self. Although she hadn’t believed that her future led to a marriage with Regina, she should have been more understanding.  
Now she realized she didn’t really know what to believe.   
Was Regina right? Was the time line changed enough now that these videos were moot? What kind of future had her counterpart returned to?  
She wished that it was the one where she had her family back, but she wasn’t hopeful that it was the case.   
She finally got to her feet and went upstairs, knocking lightly on Regina’s door; she opened it when she heard to response. She stopped as she saw Regina lying on the bed asleep. Neither woman had gotten much sleep the night before and it looked like it had caught up with Regina. Emma didn’t have the heart to wake her so she merely shut the door and went back down the stairs. She sat staring at the computer screen for a couple of minutes before shutting it down. Sleep sounded good to her and maybe she and Regina would be a little fresher tomorrow and be able to get through more of the videos to begin figuring it all out.  
Turning off the lights downstairs, Emma checked the locks on the doors as a precaution before heading up to the guest room. She poked her head in Henry’s room where her son was lying in bed but playing with a hand held video game.  
For a moment Emma’s mind flashed to Regina’s dead body in this same room before she shook off the feeling of it.   
“Hey kid, I am tired so I am going to turn in. I think your mom already has so try not to stay up too late, ok?”  
“Yeah,” he said, putting down his game. “It was kind of nice having dinner with both of you tonight.”  
“It was nice. Maybe we will get the chance to have some more dinner like that.”  
“How long do you think you are going to be staying?”  
“I don’t know. Until I know there is no danger to Regina or you I guess.”  
“What if you can’t … what if something happens to her?”  
She took a step into his room and ended coming in all the way to sit on the bed next to him. “I told you, I am not going to let that happen.”  
“I know you are going to try, but what if something does?”  
“I think it’s best if we don’t even entertain the idea of it.”  
“You two are going to go back to arguing all the time after this is all over, are you?”  
“I don’t think we will,” Emma said.   
“I kind of feel like it’s my fault.”  
“Why do you say that?”  
“Well I am the one who brought you here,” he shrugged. “I did everything I could to stop her curse and at the time I lost sight of the fact that she’s my mom. She had to have felt like I chose you over her.”  
“She may have, I don’t know. But Regina loves you and you love her and no one is going to take that away from the two of you. I don’t think Regina cares that her curse was broken. I don’t think she cares you had a part in that. I think all that matters to her now is that you are safe and you are happy.”  
“I just wish she could be happy too. I thought maybe Robin was going to be that person who made her happy. I hadn’t seen her smile as much as she had when he was around. Now she’s unhappy again and I don’t know what to about it.”  
“You already have done something. You’ve been here for her. While she kept the rest of the world out with that magical barrier, she let you in. You are the most important person in her life,” she said putting her around him. “Don’t ever doubt that.”  
There was a pause before Henry spoke again. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and Emma’s arm slid off of him in the process. He exhaled deeply before turning his head to face her.   
“If you knew this was going to happen, that my mom would get hurt, would you have still saved Marian?”  
The question caught her off guard and she averted her eyes a moment before nodding her head. “I couldn’t let her die when I knew there was something I could do to prevent it. You understand that right?”  
“Yeah, I know,” he said giving her a half smile that she couldn’t tell if it was forced or not. “I just wish you could have saved her and mom still got to be happy.”  
“Me too kid, me too.”  
They said their good nights and Emma went to the guest room feeling worse than what she had. She laid in bed starting at the ceiling for a long time lost in her thoughts. She was the one who had hurt Regina through her actions yet she found it impossible to apologize for the actions. Could she apologize for the effect, the aftermath, yes she should, but to apologize for saving a life she could not.   
She had seen Regina and Robin together, seen the way her face seemed to explode with happiness when she smiled at Robin. It was nice to see Regina be happy she had to admit. It was like there was a lightness to her step.   
That happiness was brief though, fleeting actually because of what she had done. Emma had to wonder that if she had never gone to the past, never brought Marian forward how would that relationship between Robin and Regina progress? Or would it have progressed?  
According to her future self, it wouldn’t have. It wouldn’t have because she would have convinced Regina to go on a date with her.   
But that future was gone now. Regina had said it herself, that future no longer existed. She was right.   
Regina and Robin were no longer together so everything that came after wouldn’t happen.  
Future Emma had told her that Regina and Robin’s relationship was a catalyst for her to get off her ass and ask Regina out.   
As hard as she tried to think of the possibility of it, it was still escaping her. Regina was an extremely attractive woman. Emma had no issue in admitting that. The brunette was simply perfectly put together.   
To take that step though – to look at Regina in that way.   
She still wasn’t seeing it.

Regina woke in the middle of the night, realizing that she was still wearing the clothes she had worn that day. She must have fallen asleep. It wasn’t her intention but when she had gone upstairs she had laid down on the bed only for a moment. The spell book was still lying on the bed beside her when she woke. Upon waking she immediately grabbed and it and moved it to the dresser across the room.  
She didn’t like the idea that she had slept near it for hours.   
After going to the bathroom to splash some water on her face, she left the bedroom. She stopped briefly outside of the guest bedroom’s door. Given that it was after 4 a.m. she figured Emma was inside of it sleeping. Her hand grazed the doorknob and then she moved to Henry’s room. She opened that door, peeking in, and she shook her head as her lips stretched into a smile. Henry lie there on his bed, one leg off the bed, and his hand held video game still clutched in his hands.   
She remembered how when he was younger she would often find him asleep like this, but back then it was a book in his hand. She went in and took the machine from him and laid it on the bedside table and moved his leg back on the bed. After putting a blanket over him, she kissed his forehead. She intended to leave but she stopped in the middle of the room looking down at the floor, looking at the spot where she had died.   
She could see it all clearly, not her body like she was some third person observing it. Now she saw it in the first person. Her view was carpet level. She could see the individual strands that made it up.   
Then she started to feel it – the sensation of being trapped, of being unable to move.   
She didn’t register her breathing increase or heart beat racing. It was if she could feel the fibers of the carpet on her cheek.   
As the image of shoes came into her vision for a couple of seconds. Then everything went dark.

“Mom!”  
The sound of Henry yelling brought Emma up out of bed and running to his bedroom. She had thought he was yelling for her, but once she got there and saw Regina on the floor unconscious she knew she wasn’t the mom who he had been yelling for.   
“Regina!” Emma said kneeling beside Regina and shaking her. She didn’t respond. “Henry, my cell, I left it in my room. Go call 911.”  
He ran from the room and she kept trying to wake Regina but to no avail.

Regina moved her head and then opened her eyes.  
“Mom.”  
Her eyes focused on a worried looking Henry and that was when she realized she was lying in a hospital bed.  
“What happened?”  
“You passed out,” Emma said and Regina had to turn her head in the opposite direction to see her. “Henry woke and found you in his room on the floor. You were in the same position as …”  
She trailed off and Regina knew exactly what she meant. They had both experienced that event in different ways. Emma had seen through the eyes of her counterpart while Regina had experienced it through hers.   
“We couldn’t wake you,” Emma said. “You just laid there and we called 911. Once they got you here, you still wouldn’t wake but they didn’t know what was wrong. They put you in here hoping you woke eventually.”  
“How long was I unconscious?”  
“From the time Henry found you, less than three hours.”  
She turned back to Henry. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry you had to wake up like that.”  
He shrugged like it didn’t affect him, although she knew it did. “Are you ok? What happened?”  
“I don’t know,” she said. “I went into your room to check on you and I think I passed out or something.”  
Emma knew immediately that there was more to it than that but she didn’t want to press it while their son was in the room.  
“I feel ok though,” Regina said to reassure them. “I should probably talk to the doctor about getting out of here.”  
“You aren’t going anywhere,” Emma said quickly, earning her looks from Regina and Henry. “I mean we don’t know what happened to you. The doctors are going to want to run some tests for something.”  
“I am sure that isn’t necessary,” Regina said. “It was probably because I haven’t eaten much the last couple of days.”  
“You ate last night,” Emma pointed out. “Remember?”  
“Mom’s right,” Henry said. “You shouldn’t leave until we know there is nothing wrong.”  
Regina looked back at Emma to express her displeasure but then she turned to Henry. “Of course,” Regina said. “You’re right better safe than sorry.”  
Again her eyes landed on Emma and Emma stared right back her to let her know that this was one instance when Regina wasn’t going to get her way.  
A few hours later Emma managed to convince Henry to go with Snow to grab some lunch and then bring back food for her and at Regina’s insistence of something beyond hospital food for her. Emma stayed at the hospital. Regina was undergoing some tests to Emma remained in the room. Seeing Regina there on the floor of Henry’s room, Emma wasn’t sure she had ever been as scared. For a split second she thought she was back there in the future staring down at Regina’s dead body. She felt like she had when she experienced her alternate future self’s reaction to Regina’s death.   
Then her mind snapped out of it and she got Regina to the hospital. Henry had been so worried and Emma went into mom mode to convince him that Regina would be alright even though Emma didn’t know that for sure. She just knew Regina had to be ok.  
But now Emma wanted to know what happened. Based on Regina’s reaction she knew that Regina knew something more than what she was saying.   
Now she needed to wait to speak to Regina alone.  
She was frustrated beyond belief. It wasn’t because of their whole situation, it was because it seemed like Regina’s first instinct was always to hold back with her. Why couldn’t Regina just see that she didn’t mean any harm, that she could be trusted?  
Henry and Snow returned before Regina was done with getting her tests run. Emma ate the food they brought her but she found no enjoyment in the taste of it.   
Regina was brought back into the room in a wheelchair which one look at her expression made it known how she felt about that. There was only a nurse accompanying her, not a doctor so they had to rely on Regina to tell them what the tests showed.  
“The tests came back normal,” she said gleefully. “I am fine. The doctor is having someone process the paperwork so I can go home.”  
Emma wasn’t sensing that Regina was lying but she was still cautious.   
“That’s great,” Henry said smiling. He was just happy his mom was ok.   
“Do they have any idea what happened?” Emma asked.  
“Doctor said it was probably just low blood sugar from not eating consistently for the past week or so. He gave me a stern lecture about it and I promised to not skip any meals.”  
Again she didn’t sense that Regina was lying but Emma couldn’t shake the feeling she had earlier that Regina knew something about this.  
There was a knock at the door and they all looked over.   
“Robin,” Regina said.  
“Hi,” he said taking a step into the room. “I heard you were here. I wanted to make sure you were ok.”  
Emma looked from Robin to Regina and back again. They were staring at each other.  
“Could you give us a moment?” Regina said to them, her eyes never moving away from Robin.  
“Yeah,” Emma said and she directed Henry to leave the room with her. They took seats out in the waiting area, but Emma was out of it as the minutes dragged on and she began to pace.   
“Do you think this means Robin and mom are getting back together?” Henry asked.  
“What? No. He’s married,” she responded as if it was the most obvious statement in the world.   
Robin was in there for more than 20 minutes before exiting. He said goodbye to them and then left without saying anything else. When they re-entered the room Emma noticed Regina was staring off toward the window.  
“Is everything ok?” Emma asked.  
“Yes,” Regina said. “Everything is fine.”  
Neither she nor Henry asked what it was that Robin wanted but Emma noticed Regina was in deep thought, not really paying attention to anything until a nurse came in with some papers to sign so she could get discharged.   
Emma drove them home, dropping the two of them off and telling them she needed to go into work and would see them later. She trusted Henry to keep an eye on his mother while she was gone. She went into work mostly so she could have some place to be where she could concentrate on something and perhaps actually solve something. As she had been in the hospital waiting for Regina to wake she realized that there was still so much she didn’t know and she really didn’t have any idea what to do.   
Case in point, something had happened to Regina yet Emma had no idea what it was or how to fix it. And Henry was looking to her to do that. He had been concerned that whatever happened to his mother was the vague “something” Emma had told him about, the “something” she was there to prevent. While that wasn’t the case Emma still felt like a failure in his eyes today. She felt like her alternate future self who had managed to destroy her relationship with her son because of her failures when it came to Regina.  
She swore that wasn’t going to happen to her. She wasn’t going to lose her son and to do that she needed to keep his other mother safe.

Although she had been unconscious for hours the first thing Regina did when she got home was take a shower, change clothes and then lay down on her bed. She assured Henry that she was fine and he was welcome to check on her if he needed to. It wasn’t that she was tired, but she did have a headache.  
She had only been lying there for about 20 minutes when she had this feeling like someone was watching her. It made her so uncomfortable she ended up getting out of bed and was about to open her closet door to make sure there wasn’t someone in there when he eyes fell on the spell book. She had forgotten she had laid it on the dresser.   
That book, that was where the feeling was coming from she realized. She needed to do something with it. She picked it up and took it downstairs, reassuring Henry when she passed his open door that she was again fine. She took the book down to her office and placed a spell on it so anyone looking at it would see a copy of the book “Wuthering Heights,” and she stuck it on her bookshelf.  
Her laptop was still open on her desk although it was shut down. Taking a seat she powered it back up while wondering how many videos that Emma had gotten through and why Emma hadn’t come to get her the night before. Once her computer was up she saw that Emma hadn’t gone through too many videos and that made her wonder why.   
Hesitating, she went back to the last video she had watched. She hadn’t changed her mind about not wanting to see Emma’s reaction when she found out that Regina’s soul being removed meant her death, but now she felt a little silly about it. She didn’t know this Emma and she wasn’t that Regina she told herself as she clicked play.  
She sat there watching the videos, surprised that her future self hadn’t been more harsh with Emma. The gap in time in the videos didn’t escape her notice either although she wondered if they had been deleted simply because they were nothing more than she and Emma arguing back and forth. When she got to the video where her future self described her murder and what it was like being stuck there on the floor, Regina almost shut it off then and there. She had lived through it (sort of) and she didn’t really want to hear it described. Still she listened almost horrified with how it was described, knowing she too would have described it that way.  
She had to use all her concentration to remain focused, afraid for the first time that her mind would again slip back to that moment. Upon waking in the hospital she knew it was because of what she had been thinking about in Henry’s room that led to passing out. She didn’t know why that was the result but she knew it was the reason.   
Once she was caught up with Emma she again wondered why Emma hadn’t gone any further with them. There was nothing overly revealing in this set of messages.   
Although with the gap in time Regina noticed the physical changes in the Emma from the videos. Some of the vibrancy that she had come to recognize in the sheriff was gone. There was a darkening under eyes and despite her still thin frame Regina could see the added weight she must be carrying now due to her child. Regina knew that child was the key to all of this, but she wasn’t sure how this vessel was supposed to work or what the purpose would be.

In the future

Emma exited her tent and stretched. Hanging out in the forest had certainly taught her one thing – she was definitely a city girl. She missed sleeping in a bed. She missed her life.  
Upon returning to this future timeline she and Henry had left the mansion and gone to the only place Henry could think to hide her – in the forest with Robin Hood. It wasn’t what she wanted to do, but she really didn’t have the freedom to be walking around town – it was a lesson she had already learned.  
To her everything about Storybrooke seemed to be less bright, greyer and she didn’t know if that was a reflection of how she felt or of how things had changed in this time line. It was hard to believe she actually hadn’t been in this time line long. When she first ended up in it, the first days were a blur – rushing here from Boston only to discover her wife was dead and her son hated her, then finding out that the reason she was in Boston in the first place was because she (the Emma of that time) had agreed to not return to Storybrooke. She agreed because she thought it was the only way to keep its citizens safe, to keep her son safe. Even her parents seemed to agree that she needed to stay away unless they could come up with a way for them to defeat Alex.   
She had been confused by this, but then she met the Alex of this time and it felt like her whole world had crashed in on her.   
It wasn’t until she returned to Boston after barely escaping her encounter with Alex with her life intact that she discovered the videos. It chilled her to watch herself and watch Regina as her talk to each other. The story however started to become clearer – not perfectly clear – and she discovered the other Emma’s plan.   
Once she was armed with that plan she returned to Storybrooke once more – barely a week had gone by. She tracked down Henry first in the forest and pulled him aside. He wanted nothing to do with her, but she forced him to face her and she did the only thing she could think of – she told him the truth. She told him that she wasn’t his mother of that time line and how something had gone wrong. She told him about her marriage to Regina, their family, their Alex, their life.  
She told him she was going to fix it. She was going to go back in time and find out why the time line changed and make it right again.   
Maybe she should have expected more skepticism from him but this was the boy who believed in fairy tales at one time. He agreed to go with her, watch her back why she got what she needed to travel back in time. She wouldn’t let him though, telling him only to meet her at the mansion where she would perform the magic to take her back.  
It wasn’t exactly what the original Emma of that time line had intended when she came up with that plan but if she succeeded none of that would matter.   
She didn’t succeed though.  
Now she had another decision to make. Should she return to Boston or should she confront Alex once and for all and try to end this? Her strength had returned and she was armed with the Dark One’s dagger.   
But the dagger hadn’t helped Gold from the creature he had created.  
She went to the campfire and got a cup of what passed for good forest coffee and sat down looking at the flames. She wondered where Henry was at. He had been scarce since bringing her here. She had failed him.  
She had given him hope that she could fix the timeline and his other mother would be alive and they would be family. Now she had nothing to show for her trip back in time except for the hope that her younger self would get a clue and see that Regina was the one for her. If she would just see that and ensure Regina’s safety then they had a chance, a chance at making things right.  
But in her heart of hearts she felt like it was too late. Even if Emma got off her ass, there was no way for things to happen exactly as they had happened for her when she had gone out with Regina and then married her. Her future would never be exactly what it was and that was enough to make her want to crawl back into that tent and never come out again.  
It was why she was considering confronting Alex. If this timeline remained the same at least she could try and eliminate its biggest threat.   
After all she had said that she would rather die than be returned to this timeline.  
How did you confront something that was pure magic? How could she destroy something that was at the very least a small part of her wife?   
While she may look human, one look into her eyes would tell anyone that she was something other than human. From the moment she was “born” the magic that made her continued to evolve at a rapid pace so that now Alex was a grown woman – and whether she had chosen her own form consciously or not she looked like Regina.  
In some ways she was a child though. The magic may had made her physically an adult, but Emma gathered from their brief encounter that Alex was still in a child’s phase where she looked at the world around her with curiosity.   
She was a danger to everyone living in that town, yet she hadn’t done much to threaten those lives. She didn’t have to, not when they saw what her magic could do. She frightened people and for the most part she kept to herself. From what she had gathered she essentially lived in the library which hadn’t been reopened after Belle’s death. Most of the building had survived the fire and it seemed Alex hung out there reading book after book, absorbing knowledge.  
What she intended to do with that knowledge was anyone’s guess, but Emma didn’t figure she would be satisfied with staying in Storybrooke. Gold may have unleashed this thing upon the world for his own selfish reasons, but Emma may be the one who had to stop it. She had been hoping to do that by making sure it never came into existence, but in failing at that she may have no choice but to see how much of the Dark One’s power she could use in conjunction with her own to stop Alex.  
The fact Alex was here only meant one thing to her – Regina had again died in the past.   
She stood up from the fire suddenly realizing something. She had affected the past – not enough to prevent this from happening, but the Emma of the past and Regina of the past both knew about how Regina had died before. So how had she died again?  
She needed to find Henry. She needed to know if his memories had changed –he wouldn’t realize they had but she would know as soon as she asked him how his mother had died. She didn’t want to know, yet she knew she needed to know, even if there was no way to warn her past self what to be on watch for.   
She had to find a way to save her wife.


	35. Chapter 35

Back in the present

Emma got a text from Regina telling her that dinner would be ready promptly at 6:30 p.m. Her first thought was that the other woman must have recovered from her ordeal. Her second thought was how odd it was to get a text from Regina informing her of what time to be there for dinner.   
Then again after last night she was probably lucky the brunette hadn’t barred her entirely from her house.   
She was still in disbelief over what happened.  
The day before Emma had purposely come back to the mansion late. She needed some time to collect her own thoughts, even though she had wanted to be back sooner if nothing else to check on Regina. When she had gotten in, she didn’t speak much with Regina beyond asking her how she was feeling.   
Regina said she was fine and Emma didn’t really feel like pressing her on what had happened in Henry’s room. Regina told her that she had watched the videos and was now caught up to where Emma had left off.   
“You watched them?”  
“Yes. I realized it was silly of me to worry about someone’s reaction to something when I don’t actually know that person.”  
“I guess so,” Emma replied. “Anyway there wasn’t any reaction so you know.”  
“Yes. Why do you think there was a gap in the videos?”  
“I don’t know. I was guessing they weren’t important.”  
“Let’s hope they weren’t anything more than videos of that Emma and that Regina arguing over whether Emma should be told of the circumstances of my future self’s death.”  
“Sounds plausible. So do you want to watch some more?”  
“Not tonight,” Regina said. “I was thinking tonight we could sit down and start to compile what we know and don’t know. Make some sort of order out of this chaos. Perhaps if we do then watching the videos will give us a better picture of what happened to make the future so bad.”  
You died is what Emma wanted to say, but she didn’t. “That sounds like a good plan.”  
Instead of going to her office, Emma was surprised when Regina merely retrieved a pad of paper and sat on the couch.   
“Where should we even start?” Emma asked.   
“I think we should just start discussing different points and go from there. For instance, we know that your alternate future self is pregnant but that baby is not a baby exactly, yet neither she nor my future alternate self know it.”  
“And she believes the baby is Killian’s, but again we know that it isn’t the case because he’s um yeah, well, he’s not the father.”  
“Yes, but I am still wondering how exactly this magic works. It’s obviously powerful enough to actually create a life – one of living magic and it needed my soul to do it, so why is my soul still a conscious part of you. My original thought was that since the magic could create a vessel powerful enough to contain the magic of a soul that my soul would already be inside or a part of that vessel. I don’t understand how it’s merely hanging out inside of you while this vessel inside of you grows.”  
“That thought process is light years ahead of my magical knowledge. I mean why couldn’t your soul just be there? Why does it have to be inside the vessel?”  
“If the magic of my soul brought it into being, why wouldn’t it be?”  
“I don’t know, chalk that up under things we don’t know.”  
“This would be so much easier if I had actually paid more attention when the genie translated the spell I gave to Gold.”  
“Just my opinion, but I think you did the right thing in not doing any of the spells in that book and then hiding it away like that. You said yourself that the book gave you a bad feeling. Where is it anyway?”  
“Hidden once more.”  
She didn’t elaborate and Emma wondered if that was because Regina didn’t trust her or because she wasn’t going to take any chances.  
Regina rubbed her forehead.  
“Is something wrong?”   
“No,” Regina said. “This is all very complicated is all and trying to make sense of it is not going to be easy.”  
“Maybe we are going about it the wrong way.”  
“How so?”  
“Just randomly talking about it. We need more structure to it. It’s like an investigation. In law enforcement you do sometimes throw out theories to see what fits, but you only do that after you examine the evidence. That’s what we need to do here.”  
“What evidence would that be?”  
“We have plenty already,” Emma said standing. “Come on.”  
Regina followed Emma back to her home office, curious as to where the other woman was going with all of this.  
Emma was looking around the room.   
“Can I help you find something?”  
“We need like something to write on, something big that stretches out. We are dealing with three different timelines here and it might help to map it out.”  
Not a bad idea, Regina thought. Sometimes the sheriff was smarter than she gave her credit for. She waved her hand and a large, free-standing dry erase board appeared.  
“Wow,” Emma said.   
“Is that suitable?”  
“Yeah it’s great. Question though, when you do that thing with the magic are you actually like making this board out of magic?”  
“It’s from the high school, I am just borrowing it.”  
“Oh.”  
Regina sighed. “Magic can do amazing things, but there are limitations. I could have used my magic to turn that sofa into a dry erase board, but then we wouldn’t have anywhere to sit. The important thing with magic is knowing short cuts – like for instance transporting that here instead of transforming something else into it. That is why this idea of living magic disturbs me. It’s an unknown use of magic, at least to me, and I have to wonder what limitations it has. Also why would Gold do this, even in this time line right now, why do this at all?”  
“Write those down as questions we have to answer.”  
Emma turned to the board and picking up a marker she drew three parallel lines – each in a different color.   
“The bottom line is us. The middle is the alternate future and the top one is the future that the future me came from. Is it weird that that sentence make sense?”  
“In our lives, no, it’s unfortunately the norm.”  
Emma made a dot at the beginning of the bottom line. “This is our starting point, the earliest event that we know happened. It is you getting that spell book. Since we know it’s related to all of this it seemed like a good starting point.”  
Regina didn’t disagree and Emma wrote spell underneath the dot.  
“You should also put a dot nearby it to mark your future self coming back to the past to warn me to keep the book hidden.”  
Emma paused before doing it wondering if she should tell Regina now that she thought it was her that went back in time, not her future self. She decided not to interrupt the flow of their working on this and instead made the dot and the notation.  
“Now we need to fast forward to the present time when future Emma came back here,” Emma said. “I don’t really know how much space to leave until we get to this time. How old are you anyway?”  
“Irrelevant,” Regina growled.  
“Yeah, I’ll just leave a little extended space,” Emma said turning back to the board and making a notation of future Emma coming back in time.  
“Actually, you should probably mark one before that to indicate you going to the past.”  
“What?” Emma said turning toward her. For a moment her heart was in her throat thinking Regina had finally figured it out, but they already had a dot for her going to the past.  
“You bringing Marian forward is what created this alternate time line,” Regina clarified.  
Emma felt relief wash over her, but also a sense of dread at the same time. “You know I am sorry about that right? I didn’t mean to hurt you through my actions. It wasn’t my intention.”  
“I know,” Regina said quietly.   
“It’s just. She was going to be killed and I couldn’t sit there and let that happen and then Killian was talking about how if we just left her there we could wreck the time line again and …”  
“Miss Swan,” Regina interrupted. “I don’t need a rundown of why you did it.”  
“I know you don’t and I know you probably don’t even want to think about it or anything but when all this happened you locked yourself away in here and I didn’t come apologize immediately like I should have. I should have tried to mend the fences and I didn’t. Then all this happened and even my future self apologized to you when it wasn’t even her fault. It’s not that I didn’t want to apologize, it’s just …”  
“Just what?” Regina asked when Emma trailed off and was silent for a moment as if to collect her thoughts.  
“I didn’t want things between us to be like what things were like between you and my mom. Your first reaction to this was to compare what my mom did with telling your mom about Daniel to what I did with bringing Marian back. I didn’t know what to do really because I can’t apologize for saving a woman’s life. I can apologize for it’s affect on you though. I really am sorry.”  
“I know you are,” Regina said. “I wish I could say you are forgiven, but as you know I tend to hold grudges.” Regina gave her a small smile though.  
“Do you think you can hold the grudge less time than it took you and my mom to hash things out?”  
“I will think about. For now let’s get back to work.”  
Emma put the dot on for when she went into the past to save Marian. She then moved up to the second line and put a dot on it to indicate the start of that alternate timeline as a result of her actions. After discussing with Regina she put dots on that timeline as well to indicate the custody battle, Regina’s murder, Emma’s pregnancy and the realization that Regina’s soul was inside of Emma.   
She then moved up to the top line and again paused but she wrote down future Emma’s marriage to Regina and the birth of their daughter Alex. Then at Regina’s suggestion she moved back to the middle line where she put a dot to indicate that future Emma ending up in the alternate timeline.  
“One thing I have not understood from the beginning of all of this is how the future Emma ended up in the alternate timeline with her memories intact of the her original timeline,” Emma said. “And what happened to that Emma from the alternate timeline?”  
“The way your future self talked it was like she merely took over that Emma’s spot in the timeline. It wasn’t like here where there were two of you.”  
“But why wasn’t there two of them there?”  
“Well, I guess since the time line changed entirely that alternate timeline became the new reality and it pulled that Emma into it. When she came back here she traveled through time by her own volition.”  
“I get that but I don’t understand why it was everyone else’s reality except hers. She knew that wasn’t her timeline. She knew what changed. How did she of all people retain memories of the other timeline?”  
“I don’t know the answer,” Regina said. “It could simply be because of who you are. You are the product of true love, which not only makes you the Savior, but it also infused you with great magic. You seem to constantly underestimate or ignore that part of you. It makes you unique.”  
“It makes me different.”  
“Is that such a bad thing?”  
“In my life, it’s not been that great of thing.”  
Regina regarded the other woman, wondering what she meant by that. She admittedly didn’t know that much about Emma beyond the what Sydney had dug up on her and those were mostly facts. She knew as a kid Emma bounced around a lot, and she wondered if that comment had something to do with that.  
The blonde had a surprising amount of depth, Regina realized.  
“It looks as if we have all the main points at least mapped out,” Regina said. “I wonder …”  
“What?”  
“In the future Emma and I were married for four years. We had Alex two years in. Now if you consider that we dated at least a year before marriage, we are talking five years passed between now and when that future time line ceased and when she gets pulled into the other timeline. Does that mean five years passed there as well?”  
Emma shrugged. She hadn’t really thought too much about the whole time thing because it gave her headache when she started to think about it.   
She found it interesting that Regina referred to herself in the first person when discussing the marriage to that future Emma.   
“I suppose,” Emma said finally. “We know that at some point alternate me ends up in Boston living alone. Henry is back here in Storybrooke and so is everyone else that we know of. Except Belle.”  
Emma looked back at the board. “Ok, so we know there is this other Alex, the vessel in this alternate timeline, and presumably from watching the videos we will get a better idea of when that is. But we also know that Belle dies in that other timeline at some point that we haven’t arrived at yet as well,” she said.  
“Belle’s death would devastate Gold,” Regina said. “He would literally do anything to prevent that from happening or take revenge if someone is responsible.”  
“She died in a fire, according to my future self,” Emma said. “I don’t know that anyone is responsible for that.”  
“We also know that Emma becomes the Dark One, but we don’t know the circumstances of that only that it had to have happened in between the time of her ending up in that alternate time line and coming back here,” Regina said.   
Regina’s phone suddenly went off startling both of them. She looked at it. “I need to take this,” she said excusing herself.   
Emma couldn’t help but wonder who would be calling Regina this late. When she was gone more than five minutes, Emma went in search of her. She walked into the kitchen where Regina was leaning against the island with her back to Emma.   
“No,” she heard Regina say. “Really, you don’t need to stop by and check on me. Now if you want to stop by that is another matter.”  
Emma detected a lightness to Regina’s tone and for some reason it set her teeth on edge. She heard Regina say goodbye a few seconds later and when she turned Emma was standing there.  
“Who were you talking with?” Emma asked.  
“Just a friend,” Regina said dismissively. “We should get back to work.”  
Regina walked by her and headed back to her office. Emma followed her but the moment they were both in the room, she didn’t let the matter drop.  
“Was that Robin on the phone?”   
Regina didn’t answer.  
“It was Robin, wasn’t it? Why is he calling you this late at night?”  
“I don’t see where that is any of your concern.”  
“He’s a married man.”  
“I am well aware of this.”  
“Then why are you talking to him still? Is he coming over to see you?”  
“I think we are getting off topic.”  
“You can’t possibly think this is a good idea. Do you realize for him to come here he would have to sneak away from his wife and child? Is that why he is calling so late because he had to sneak away to make the call? Did he sneak away before to see you in the hospital?”  
“Careful Miss Swan, you are dangerously close to crossing a line here.”  
“You can’t start back up with him, you do realize this right?” Emma said as she stepped closer to her.  
“No I don’t. What I know is that Robin was making me happy once again and then you had to ruin that happiness. He and I are both adults. If you hadn’t have messed things up he and I would be together right now.”  
“No you wouldn’t have been.”  
“Oh really, and why is that?”   
“Because you would be with me,” Emma shot back and for reasons she couldn’t explain she grabbed a hold of Regina and pulled her against her, kissing her.


	36. Chapter 36

In the future  
It took Emma a while to find Henry. Stupid forest she thought as she went trudging through it to where Henry was set up with his bow and arrows – his sights set on a deer, which quickly took off when she noisily approached.  
He turned around and looked at her with annoyance.   
“What do you want?”  
“Look kid I feel like we have been over this like 100 times already. I am not the same Emma as the Emma from this time you messed up things for herself and you, so I would appreciate it if you could cut me a little slack,” she said.  
“Yeah, well, you are the Emma with the brilliant plan to go back in time and fix it all. How did that work out again? Oh, that’s right it didn’t,” he said standing up.   
“It didn’t work out,” she said crossing her arms. “Does that mean we are supposed to give up?”  
“You know since you left, well since the other Emma left for Boston, Alex hasn’t tried anything. She hasn’t threatened anyone or used her magic against anyone that we know of. That peace was bought by Emma leaving. Now I know my grandparents want Emma to be back here to deal with this and they had been trying to get her to come back so she could deal with Alex, but maybe we should all just leave it alone – live and let live.”  
“Where is this philosophy coming from all of a sudden?”  
“I just think we will all be better off if you leave.”  
He tried to walk past her but she grabbed his arm. “I am not leaving. You can hate me for what my counterpart did, but she loved you. Believe it or not she loved you and I love you. All I want to do is fix this.”  
“How? You tried before and failed. If Alex finds you out here she won’t go after you, she will go after the rest of us because that will hurt you more. Is that what you want?”  
“Of course not, but I am not going to sit back while she uses the threat of her power against our town. She has to be stopped. I tried to keep any of this from happening but obviously I failed, but some change had to have happened. That is why I am out here to find you so I can figure out what changed.”  
“Nothing has changed.”  
“You don’t know that, you wouldn’t know that because you have been in this time line. If anything changed you wouldn’t have noticed – you would have just accepted it as your reality. I had hoped that even if I couldn’t convince my younger self that Regina is who she is supposed to be with that at the very least my younger self would have protected Regina – kept her from dying but she didn’t. Alex can’t exist without Regina’s death so how did Regina die?”  
He looked at her like she was crazy, a look she was getting used to from him.   
“You know how she died.”  
“I know how she died before, from when I first came to this time.” She let go of him, all of this time stuff giving her a headache. “When I went back, I may have changed how she died, but obviously she still died, I need to know if that changed. When I first came here I found out Regina was dead – she had been shot, and my counterpart had ruled it a suicide, but it wasn’t. Hook was working with Gold and they conspired to kill her to get her soul. Is that still what happened?”  
“No,” he said shaking his head. “That’s not how she died.”  
“How did she die then? I need details.”  
“Hook took her. He was upset over Emma breaking up with him and he thought something was going on between her and my mom so he took her one night. It was days before … before her body was found.”  
Emma stepped away from him. Hook. This was probably her fault, for her interactions with him while back in the past.   
“How did he kill her?”  
“Her um her neck was broken.”  
“Damn it,” Emma said moving away from him even more. “Why is this happening to our family?”  
“We don’t have a family, not anymore.”  
She watched him as he walked away knowing she should say something, do something, but right now she felt inadequate. There was no way for her to warn Emma or Regina of the past.  
Yes, she had learned magic over the years, but nothing major. She never wanted that kind of power. Besides if something of some magnitude needed done, she had her wife at her side. Then all of a sudden, she didn’t.  
She was trapped in this time line and the only way to go back in time was to have an even stronger magic – a magic she stole from Gold.  
She took the dagger out from where she had it strapped to her leg. She needed to keep it near her just in case. She needed to be ready if she needed to call upon that power. She needed to be ready because she wasn’t going to leave. She wasn’t going to abandon her family here. 

In the Present  
Regina felt Emma’s lips pressed against her. There was an urgency, a hurriedness to the action. And it caused Regina to back away from the blonde.  
The two women stood there staring at each other.  
“It was you,” Regina said. She touched her lips with her two fingers for a moment, thinking about that kiss and remembering. “It was you in Agrabah, not her. That kiss was just like …”  
She stopped talking but she could still feel Emma’s lips on hers. It felt exactly like the hurried kiss that Emma had given her past self in Agrabah. She realized it wasn’t the slow, passionate kiss that future Emma would have given her. That was the kiss you would give your wife. The kiss she had just shared with Emma and the one from the past – that wasn’t the kiss of someone who was used to your lips, used to the way you liked to be kissed.  
Regina backed away from her and then turned her back on her entirely. Emma started to take a tentative step toward her and then stopped. She hung her head down and put her hands in her back pockets, trying to figure out what to say.  
“When you first told me about what you remembered from Agrabah I got to thinking and I was wondering how my future self would have known about that spell book. I mean if her future was so happy then why would she have need to know about it. I suppose it was possible for her to have learned about it in the alternate timeline but I don’t know it didn’t seem right somehow to me. The only thing that made sense was that I was the one who traveled to the past.”  
This time Emma did take the step forward. She didn’t like that Regina had her back turned to her, but she was afraid that she had crossed a line with her actions. She wasn’t even sure why she had kissed Regina – just that she didn’t like Regina talking about Robin like there was something between them.   
Regina turned to face her. “That isn’t possible. This isn’t possible.”  
Regina moved past her and Emma let her go. She knew now wasn’t the time.

When Emma woke the next morning, she left the house early – checking in with Henry and making sure he knew to call her if anything happened. Regina’s door had been closed like it had been the previous night when Emma had finally turned off all the lights down stairs and gone up to bed.   
She had no communication with Regina all day until receiving this text letting her know when dinner would be ready.  
All day that kiss had played over and over again in her head. It hadn’t lasted long, yet Emma could swear even in that brief amount of time that she was still able to imagine what Regina’s lips felt like. They were softer than what Emma was expecting. She wasn’t sure why she thought that they wouldn’t be soft, maybe it was because of all the scowls that Regina had given her since her arrival in Storybrooke.   
She had told herself more than a dozen times to stop thinking about it, but it didn’t do any good.   
Now she realized she was dreading going back into that house and seeing the other woman. After Regina had left the room, Emma had sat down thinking about all that had happened in such a short amount of time. She looked at the timeline that they had worked on together and realized that in every one of them now she and Regina had at the very least kissed.  
What would she have done if Regina hadn’t backed away from her?  
Would they have kept kissing? Would she have taken it any further?  
She honestly didn’t know the answers.   
All she knew was that the idea that Robin might sneak away from his wife to see Regina and Regina apparently being ok with this had hit her the wrong way. Then she thought about how future Emma had been jealous of Robin. Her catalyst, she had called him. He was the reason she had finally taken the step to ask Regina out on a date.   
Could the same thing being happening now? To her?  
She had a headache just thinking about it.  
Emma called up the text message again. It was straight-forward and gave Emma no clues as to Regina’s mental state over what happened. She quickly typed back, “I will be there.”   
Maybe Regina would respond and it would help her know what to expect when she got there. But Regina never responded, and now here Emma was driving from work to go to Regina’s home. She thought about stopping at her place and grabbing more clothes, but decided that it would make her late and Regina hated things like that.   
The thought came into her head and she realized that she knew that kind of thing annoyed Regina. She knew lots about the other woman as far as things that got on her nerves or annoyed her. But outside of Henry, she wasn’t really sure she knew much about the things Regina enjoyed. Their budding friendship had been ruined when she had brought Marian back so she never got the chance to learn more about Regina.  
She pulled into the driveway and looked around to make sure nothing was out of place around the house. She walked into the backyard to check there as well, finally using her key to get in the back door and into the kitchen where Regina was at.  
“I was just checking the perimeter, making sure nothing was out of the ordinary out there,” Emma said, feeling like an idiot for her explanation.  
“I suggest you wash up, dinner is ready.”  
Emma went to the sink and washed her hands, thinking yep, that is not a happy Regina.  
Dinner was extremely uncomfortable as even Henry seemed to sense some tension in the air. There was barely any speaking during the meal and after it was over Henry made a dash for the upstairs. Emma stayed behind and helped Regina clear the table. They didn’t speak as they cleaned off the plates and put them in the dishwasher. Once loaded, Regina turned the machine on.  
“Are you upset with me?” Emma asked finally. “Because if you are, I am sorry for you know kissing you like that. I was out of line.”  
“Robin stopped by today,” she said.   
“Oh.”  
Silence.  
“Look if you and Robin want to continue to see each other, you should.”  
“Is that so?”  
“Yeah, I mean it’s your life and his life and no one should get a say in it but the two of you if you want to be together.”  
“So you no longer object to him and I pursuing a relationship. What changed your mind?”  
“Nothing, I just … look it’s none of my business who you choose to date. As long as the person doesn’t pose an issue with Henry then it’s none of my concern.”  
“I would never be with anyone that would pose any harm to Henry.”  
“I know,” Emma said.  
“Good. I am glad we understand each other then. Perhaps we could retire to my office and continue our work then.”  
“Yeah, just let me go to the bathroom first.”  
Emma went to the bathroom while Regina headed to the office. Emma didn’t really need to pee or anything but she needed to get away from Regina for a moment at least. As soon as the door closed behind her and she was sure Regina was out of ear shot, she hit the sink with her hand.   
“What the hell is she thinking?” Emma said.   
It was followed by her lecturing herself about how this wasn’t any of her business and that if Regina wanted to be with Robin then that is who she should be with. She wasn’t going to say a word. She was just going to go in there and work together with Regina to stop that alternate future from happening.  
She left the bathroom and went into the office where Regina was already seated at her desk with the laptop open. I guess we are back to watching videos, Emma thought.  
She came around and stood behind Regina.   
“Are you ready?” Regina asked, keeping her eyes forward.  
“Yes. No.”  
“Which is it Miss Swan?”  
“Stop calling me that,” Emma said. “My name is Emma; it’s not a hard name to pronounce.”  
“You seem a little on edge,” Regina said turning her head slightly to look catch a small glimpse of Emma.  
“I am fine,” Emma said. “Just play the video.”  
“Are you sure you are ready this time because you still seem tense? Are you sure the idea of Robin and I doesn’t bother you?”  
“I said it’s fine.” Her teeth practically fused together as she said it.  
“He’s going to leave Marian.”  
“Don’t tell me you actually believe that?” Emma said, and she walked away from her. “God, don’t you know that is what every married man says when he is cheating on his wife? How long do you expect he will be stringing you along, eh?”  
“Robin is a good man, an honorable man.”  
“Oh yeah, his actions scream honorable. I didn’t realize you were this naïve.”  
“You really are jealous, aren’t you?” Regina said standing up, a slight smile on her face.  
“Jealous, no I’m not jealous. That’s ridiculous.”  
“Then which is it Emma, are you ok or not ok with me and Robin being together?”  
“I told you it is none of my business if you want to go out with an adulterer.”  
“This would be a lot easier if you simply admitted you are against this.”  
“You want me to tell you the truth? The truth is that if you get back together with Robin you will be making the biggest mistake of your life. He is married. He has a child with his wife. You will be tearing a family apart if you do this.”  
“So your concern is for him and his family? It has nothing to do with the fact that you kissed me last night?”  
“Kissing you was a mistake.”  
“Is that so?”  
“Yes because clearly it didn’t make a difference to you in any way.”  
“It didn’t need to,” Regina said calmly. “Because I know the future that I want. Just to be clear that future doesn’t include Robin. He never even came over today. I only said that because I wanted to see your reaction. Robin isn’t who I want to be with.”


	37. Chapter 37

Emma stood there not saying anything.   
“I don’t expect anything from you,” Regina said. “That’s not why I lied to you. I don’t know if it was just meeting your future self and knowing that in some reality you and I were meant for each other, or if there has been something between us all along and it never manifested itself in the here and now. I don’t know. I don’t have the answers and I might never have the answers. I know I don’t want to be with Robin. But I am not going to presume to think that you and I are on a path where we would be together. My point is I don’t want to pressure you or make you uncomfortable in any way. We both need to be free to make our decisions about our own lives. Fate and destiny, they are just words. Our lives are what we make them to be. ”  
Emma realized Regina was giving her an out. She could walk away from this, from the kiss they shared if she so chose.  
“If you don’t want to pressure me, why did you lie to me?” She tried not to make is sound accusatory, but she wasn’t sure that she was succeeding.   
“I guess I needed to know for myself.”  
“Know what?”  
“Your future self said Robin was a catalyst for her. Her jealousy over him and I dating is what motivated her to ask me out in the first place. I guess I needed to know that in some future that you and I were possible.”  
“My future self. She was happy. She got her happy ending. I didn’t want to believe it, but when I saw you two before she disappeared, even if you weren’t really her wife, I saw that she loved you. I should have seen it before, but I didn’t want to.”  
“I can understand. I am sure it was more than a little shocking.”  
“Not to you though, or am I wrong?”  
“You aren’t wrong. It was somewhat surprising, but as I told your counterpart it also made some sense to me.”  
“In what way?”  
“Well we do share a son.”  
“Is that all?”   
“If this is you fishing for some sort of compliment, you can forget it Miss Swan.”  
“It’s Emma. Go ahead and try calling me Emma for once; you might find you like it.”  
“My fear is that I might like it very much.”  
“Do you fear this, I mean all of this that has been happening?”  
“Don’t you?”  
“If you had asked me this when it first started I would have said that I feared the future where you and I ended up together more. I did everything I could to deny that it was a possibility and yes worked against my future self to prevent her from succeeding.”  
Regina took a step away from her, her eyes looking down at the floor a moment before returning to Emma’s. “Was the idea of being with me that distasteful for you?”  
“It didn’t really have anything to do with you, it was my own stuff. You know the stuff I said to you while I was waiting for you to wake up, about how I don’t want some future that I have to adhere to. I did that already when I came here and destroyed your curse. I feel like I did my duty in that regards and it was a duty. I didn’t come to Storybrooke to do any of that, I just wanted to return Henry to you but then I got caught up in all of this stuff and then the curse broke and my parents … and I don’t know, I don’t like being some character in a story book. I am more than that. But if our futures are written down somewhere, what does that mean as far as personal choice goes? You chose not to be with Robin all those years ago, it was your choice but then he is here all of a sudden and you get that second chance, so does what does that all mean about what your future is or isn’t supposed to be? I don’t know, I don’t know the answers. All I know is I don’t want to have my life dictated to me.”  
“Nor do I. I have had that done to me before, and I hated it and the outcome. I have to believe that we get to make our own choices in life though. It’s why you should have yours in regards to this.”  
Again she felt like Regina was giving her an out and she wondered if she should take it. Would Regina be hurt if she did? Most certainly, but was that really her responsibility if this isn’t what she wanted. Did she even know what she wanted?  
“Maybe for now we should go back to watching the videos. We still have a lot to figure out.”  
Regina merely nodded, her face unreadable to Emma as she took her seat back in front of the computer. Emma came over to stand behind her as she hit play.

As always Emma appeared on the screen and again Regina couldn’t help but notice how tired and downtrodden this woman had become since the videos had first started. She wondered how much of it was caused by the vessel inside of her, or if it was just Regina’s soul that was doing this to her.  
“I guess I get why you didn’t want to tell me the truth. You see I knew something was wrong with the whole suicide thing. I knew it wasn’t true. I didn’t want to see the truth, not really, or I would have known something was going on. I mean what am I supposed to do now? I am carrying Killian’s child. I am carrying the child of the man who murdered you.”   
Emma looked away from the screen for several moments. While they couldn’t see her hands, Regina got the feeling Emma had at least one sitting on her midsection where the life was now growing inside of her.  
“I don’t get it,” Emma said again looking at the camera. “I don’t understand why he would do this to you or why your soul is inside me. I have to know why. Don’t hate me for this please, but I have to know why.”

The next video came on, and this time it was definitely Regina in control.   
“Miss Swan, whatever you are thinking of doing, I am asking you not to. I told you, I am dead. This is not worth you risking your life or the life of your child over.”

The next video in the series was dated about eight days later. It was again Emma.  
“I spoke with Killian,” she said. “I um … I don’t understand. The things he said I just … I killed him Regina. I killed him.”  
The Emma on the screen broke out crying.

Regina didn’t click on the next video, instead glancing back at Emma who looked a couple of shades paler.   
“Are you ok?” Regina asked.   
“I don’t know,” Emma said as she moved away from the desk. “I think I need a moment.”   
She rushed from the room and barely made it to the bathroom where she promptly threw up her dinner. She was still hovering over the toilet when there was a knock on the door.  
“Do you need anything?” Regina asked.   
“Maybe some mouthwash,” Emma said feeling the aftermath of the bile in her mouth.   
“In the cabinet below the sink,”   
“Thanks, I will be out in a moment.”  
She heard Regina step away from the door and she moved to get the mouthwash. After using a couple of shots from the bottle she returned it to it place. At least her mouth would smell good but it did nothing for her stomach which was now tied in knots. Had she really killed Killian? She may have found this part the hardest to believe of all the things she had heard to date. She wasn’t a killer. She wouldn’t kill someone. There had to be something else going on here and she was going to find out. She opened the door with more force than was necessary but she was surprised to see Regina was waiting there a little ways away from the bathroom.   
“Let’s get to that next video,” Emma said.  
”Are you sure? We don’t have to …”  
“Yes we do,” Emma said heading in the direction of the office. “Are you coming?” she asked when Regina hesitated. Regina nodded and followed her. This time Emma took the seat and immediately hit play.

When Emma appeared on the screen she wasn’t looking directly at the camera. In fact she was looking downward.   
“Killian was buried today. Some of his crewmates went but no one else did. I was there, but I hung back out of the way where no one could see me. There was an investigation into the shooting done by one of the other officers. I was cleared in it. I mean I should have been, as it was self defense.”  
She looked at the camera. “But even knowing I did what I had to do to protect myself, it doesn’t make me feel any better. I feel worse if that is possible. Henry came to see me. He wanted to know if what happened with Killian had anything to do with your death. That is a smart boy you raised. I told him no and he left still angry at me. I couldn’t very well tell him or anyone else the truth. If I did they would lock me away for being crazy. I mean who is going to believe that I went to confront Hook because you told me that he was the one who killed you?”  
“Everyone in town thinks that Hook got upset over my decision to raise the baby on my own and attacked me. Anyway, I guess I owe you the truth of what happened at the very least. I had called Killian to arrange to talk. He eagerly agreed thinking that I wanted to talk to him about the baby. He wanted to meet on his ship so I went there. I am not sure I had a plan in mind exactly, all I knew was I needed to look him in the eyes and ask him about his involvement in your death. I get there and he actually hugs me and he is talking all excitedly about the baby and us getting back together and having a life together.”  
She paused looking down at her stomach before looking up again. “I told him that isn’t why I was there and he got defensive immediately wanting to know why I was there if not for the baby.”  
“I told him I was there because I had reason to believe he was involved in your murder. He stepped away immediately and averted his eyes as he pointed out that it wasn’t a murder, it was a suicide. I knew in that moment that what you had said was true. He was involved and I told him as much and I asked him why. I wasn’t even demanding the answer. I just asked why. He continued to deny it and so I told him what you told me about how it actually happened; about how he had gone to your place and gotten you to take him upstairs. I told him I knew Gold was right there with him after the deed was done but it was him who pulled the trigger.”  
“He asked me how I could possibly know that. He didn’t even deny it at that point. He grabbed both of my arms and shook me, demanding I tell him how I knew that. I wasn’t even scared at this point as I shoved him back from me. Then I don’t know why I did it, but I told him the truth. I told him how your soul was inside of me and you had told me. He backed away from me even more and looked at me, looked down at my stomach like he was sickened or something and then he started to curse Gold, saying that he should have killed that crocodile a long time ago and he wasn’t even paying attention to me as he just raged over Gold. I asked him what was going on and he looked me and laughed and said ‘you don’t even have a clue, do you? You have no idea what it is that you are carrying.’ This time I looked down at my stomach.”  
“I asked him what me meant by that and he laughed again, saying that he should’ve known better than to trust Gold. I agreed and asked him to tell me what was going on. He pulled out a bottle of alcohol from near the wheel and took a big drink. He said that Gold helped him return to the Enchanted Forest to get his boat. The deal was Gold would help him get there if Hook returned with two things – one was some herb or something that was supposed to help with getting pregnant because he and Belle wanted to have a child. I didn’t even have to ask him before he admitted that yes, he had slipped some of this into my drink one night so he could impregnate me. I was furious and I went up to him and hit him, asking him how he could do such a thing. That is when he told me he knew, he knew about you and I having sex. He said he wanted me to be pregnant to ensure he and I would be together. But then he took another drink and told me to relax because that wasn’t his kid inside of me. I told him it had to be because I hadn’t had sex with anyone else. He said that he should probably rephrase what he said and instead say that it wasn’t a kid inside of me.”  
“At this point, I didn’t know what to think or even say. I think he sensed that because he took another drink and then told me about the other item Gold had sent him to fetch. Gold sent him to pick up a spell that he locked away in his home. Before Hook would agree to it, he demanded to know what the spell was. He said Gold told him it was a powerful spell that would help right a wrong. Hook demanded more of an answer than that as he didn’t trust him. Gold told him that the spell would create a living vessel and once that vessel merged with a compatible soul a magic would be born that would be unlike any magic ever seen in this world or any world. He called it living magic. He got the spell – it was a couple of pages he said and he gave them to Gold. Then Gold enlisted him to kill you. He said that Gold was there that night with you and he used the spell on you. Hook said he didn’t really know what it did to you but that Gold got upset because he went looking through your house. He was looking for some spell book that you had, which he said he needed. He was outraged that he couldn’t find it because it has something to do with the spell he did.”  
“I was confused and I let me guard down and the next thing I know he hit me upside the head with the bottle he had been drinking from. I went down immediately and he was on top of me holding me down with his one hand and he had his hook sitting on my belly. I looked in his eyes and I knew he was going to do something even before he called it an abomination. I was already dazed and he held my neck so hard against the deck that I was beginning to have trouble breathing. I managed to knock him off of me and I scrambled to my feet. He came at me and with his hook ready to strike and I pulled out my gun. I didn’t even have time to tell him to stop and I …”  
She looked away again and paused for a long time.   
“He was going to kill the baby,” Emma said. “He was going to do it. I don’t understand. He called it an abomination. He said it wasn’t a baby.”  
Another pause.  
“If it’s not a baby, what is it? What’s inside of me?”

The video stopped and Regina watched as Emma’s hesitated to start the new one. “She knew before she gave birth that she wasn’t having a baby.”  
“We don’t know that she actually gave birth.”   
Emma turned toward her. “What do you mean?”  
“I mean this is magic, we don’t know that this was natural in any way.”  
Emma turned back to the computer. “That is so not helping right now.”  
“Sorry.”  
Emma hit play.

“Miss Swan, I need you to do something,” Regina said.   
For once Regina didn’t recognize that it was indeed her on the screen. It seemed she too had taking on Emma’s shoulder slump.   
“I need you to get me a spell book, a certain spell book that you haven’t brought here yet. Probably because you didn’t recognize it as a spell book since I disguised it with magic.”  
Regina went on to explain how to find the book and bring it there.   
“If Gold was after that book, we need to make sure he never gets it.”

Emma looked at Regina again. “Why would Gold want that book?”  
“I don’t know,” Regina said. “I don’t know what spell he could be after. Like I said, I was only interested in that one spell. Move on to the next video, maybe our counterparts found out why he wanted it.”


	38. Chapter 38

Emma appeared on screen holding the book.  
“What the hell is this thing and is this skin? Is this book cover skin?”  
She look disgusted at the book and sat it down.  
“I flipped through it and let me tell you, I don’t understand Elvish and I don’t even know what language that book is in. I assume you are going to hijack my body so you can read whatever spell you are looking for in that thing, or maybe explain to me what Gold wants it for and what this has to do with the baby.”  
“Speaking of the baby, I went to the hospital to get checked out. I had gone after the incident with Hook, but I went again the other day. I just needed to be sure I guess and the doctor said the baby is perfectly healthy. That’s got to be a good thing, right. I mean whatever that stuff was that Hook was talking about; it must not be true because the doctor did all the tests and the baby is fine. She’s developing normal he said. I just … I need you to tell me that this all going to ok, that what he was talking about isn’t true. Please Regina; I need you to tell me that it’s all ok.”

Regina hated to hear that pleading voice knowing that her alternate self would surely figure it out just as she had here. She could practically picture her other self inside Emma’s body, taking control and picking up that book and feeling the same feeling of revulsion that she did when she held it in her hands.  
But like her, the other Regina wouldn’t be able to read any of the spells in it beyond the one she had translated and memorized all those years ago.  
“Sydney,” Regina said, causing Emma to turn and look at her before starting the next video. “I am going to need to go talk to Sydney.”  
“He is the only one who knows how to read that book. Obviously there is some other spell in there that Gold must have wanted and I don’t know what it is. My future self wouldn’t know either, so even though she had you retrieve the book, it will do her no good.”  
“Ok,” Emma said. “But how do you know that she didn’t go to Sydney in that timeline? Maybe the answers are right here in the videos and you won’t need to bother going to see his crazy ass.”  
“I suppose you could be right.”  
“Yes, I could be,” Emma said. “Don’t sound so shocked.”  
Emma turned back to the computer, but paused. “There is another gap in time, not a lot, just nine days, but you would think with what is going on that the two of them would be communicating more not less.”  
“That is odd,” Regina remarked.  
Emma hit play.

“Regina, why haven’t you recorded any messages,” Emma asked. “You are sort of freaking me out more than just a little bit. Is this because you don’t want to answer my question about the baby? That’s it, isn’t it? It’s what Hook said; this isn’t a baby, it’s something else. Fuck Regina, I need to know. You can’t leave me hanging like this. Just fucking talk to me.”

 

The video ended and Emma immediately went to the next one.

“Emma,” Regina said. “I am sorry. I haven’t been avoiding you or anything like that. It’s just; I couldn’t take control of your body. I kept trying and trying, but … something else was preventing me from doing that. I think that something is the baby.”  
Regina looked down at Emma’s pregnant baby.  
“You’re going to give birth soon. Even if I didn’t know how far along you are, I know. I can sense it,” she said, her body – or rather Emma’s body, visibly shuddering.  
Regina looked back at the camera. “I am sorry to have to tell you this, but your baby, it’s a baby, but it’s something else. Gold did it. There was a spell in that book; I gave it to Gold a long time ago. I didn’t know what it did exactly or what he wanted it for, but it would appear this is what it does.”  
She went on to tell the story of how Gold had approached her about getting the book and how she had retrieved it. She told why she wanted the spell to resurrect Daniel and about her journey to Agrabah.  
She told her how she now believed that Gold had created this vessel inside of Emma and was using her soul in an effort to create this living magic, whatever that was.  
“That’s why I couldn’t take control of your body like I had. It’s like I can feel my soul and it’s tethered to this vessel. Each day I feel it pulling my soul in more and more, and I can’t stop it,” she said, the fear evident in her voice. “It’s going to consume me. I don’t like the way it feels. It’s not like the way I can feel my soul in your body. Whatever this vessel is, it’s unnatural, but at the same time I feel like I am being drawn to it like a moth to a flame. There is a power, an almost seductive feel of power and I am afraid. I am scared Emma. I am scared because I know the things I did with my power in my mortal life. Whatever this is, it’s more powerful than I was.”  
“This may be the last time I get to take control of your body. I wish we had more time. Whatever happens with this vessel, you can’t let Gold get his hands on it. He will use this power for his own purposes and that is never a good thing. It may be a vessel for living magic, but it will still be a child. That is why your doctor’s visit went fine. I can tell from in here that it is indeed a baby, just not a natural one. Protect her Emma. A part of her at least is me, and a part of her is you. You must protect her.”

The video ended abruptly as if the power had gone out or something. Regina took a step back from Emma, who remained silent and continued to sit there.  
“Are you ok?” Emma asked finally, even though she didn’t even turn to look at Regina when she said it.  
The truth was she wasn’t ok. How could she watch that and be ok? She thought again about what it was like lying there on Henry’s floor, dying while Gold and Hook stood over her. Gold had her murdered all so he could take her soul for this purpose, but she still didn’t understand what that purpose was. What could he possibly want with this living magic? It had to be something that he as the Dark One couldn’t do on his own, or else he merely didn’t want to do it on his own. He had used her to cast that curse, which made her wonder what he wanted to use the living magic for.  
She wanted to go upstairs to her room, to lie down under the covers and pray she didn’t ever dream of the horrors that her alternate self must have experienced. A tether, she had said. The vessel must have grown to the point where it was now needing the final component – her soul, which apparently was compatible for this purpose. It had latched on to her soul and now it was pulling it in. Once that happened Regina could only guess that Emma would give birth.  
She wanted her future Emma to be here right now. She wanted to ask her questions about what she had seen in her brief time in this alternate timeline. But most of all she wanted her there so she could feel her arms around her. She wanted her to tell her it would all right all right because right now Regina felt like it was anything but all right.  
“Regina.”  
The forceful sound of her name drew her back to the present where Emma had turned and was looking at her, the concern evident on her face.  
“Are you ok?” she asked again.  
Regina nodded. “I am fine. The next video please.”  
Emma studied her a moment more before turning back to the computer.  
“Um, the next video, it’s dated the same day,” Emma said before activating it.

 

Emma appeared on the screen, wiping away tears. “I don’t know what to do. You can’t leave me like this. I don’t know about this magic stuff and I can’t do this without you. You have to find someway to stop this from happening. You are the strongest person I know Regina, you have to fight it. You have to because I can’t.”

 

This time when the video ended, they could see Emma reach for the computer to hit stop.  
“I am almost afraid to watch any more,” Emma said. “I mean we know that Alex was born or whatever. Apparently that is going to happen sooner rather than later in these videos. And this is only video from the eight months after you were killed in that timeline. Yet we are guessing that my future self ended up there in the same time she was in, which was five years from where we are now, give or take. We know that future turns out to be really shitty in this time line.”  
“But we don’t know what happened in that time frame or why you were living in Boston. We don’t know the answer to the big question, which is why Gold did this? We have to know or else we won’t know if he isn’t already planning on it in this time.”  
“He had Hook following you, which means he is planning it,” Emma said. “I am not going to let him hurt you.”  
Regina couldn’t help the fluttering of her heart upon hearing Emma say that with such conviction.  
“We need to continue to watch these no matter how painful this gets to be,” Regina said.  
“Alright, but if this gets any crazier, I am going to vote that we grab Henry and ditch this town until we’re sure that Gold isn’t after your soul, or my womb for that matter.”  
She hit play on the next video.

 

“I can’t believe you are really gone,” Emma said.

They noticed immediately that it was a different background and Emma was wearing a hospital gown.  
“Hold on, pause it,” Regina said and Emma did so. “How much time passed?”  
Emma looked at the file to see when it was dated. “About two weeks from the last one. You’re thinking she’s in the hospital because gave birth, aren’t you?”  
“I would assume so,” Regina said. “Go ahead and hit play.

“It’s not like you didn’t warn me,” Emma said. “I don’t know even know why I am recording this. I asked mom to bring my laptop here to the hospital, and I don’t know, I just thought well I started these videos out like I was talking to you even before I knew your soul was in me, why not continue them even though you no longer exist.”  
“Anyway, I um … I am in the hospital, as you can probably tell from my surroundings. Belle is actually in the next room. She and Gold are celebrating the birth of their daughter. You would think they would have moved me to another room. I mean the last place a woman wants to be when her baby is born stillborn is next to a room where a couple is celebrating their new baby girl.”  
“So there is that. I guess I should be a little relieved because that whole living magic thing apparently failed.”  
She lapsed into a silence, looking away from the camera and wiping away some tears.  
“When the contractions started I was all worried. I hadn’t heard from you since that last video and I kept thinking that it must have happened; your soul must have merged with the baby. Then I thought, you said it yourself that this baby was going to be part you, so I tried not to be sad because at least you would go on living in some form or another.”  
“But the delivery wasn’t going well and they had to sedate me because I was hemorrhaging really bad an they thought they were going to lose me and the baby. When I woke up, my mom and dad were here and they both looked really sad and that is when they told me that the baby didn’t make it.”  
“Even Henry stopped by to check on me. We didn’t have much to say to each other though, and I think he was a little uncomfortable so he just left.”  
She looked away from the screen again before coming back to it.  
“I guess this is really goodbye Regina. Maybe this is a good time to tell you that I love you. I will always love you. And who knows, maybe we will meet again in another time and another place. Hopefully I won’t fuck it up like I did this time.”

The video ended.  
“The next one is dated over a year later,” Emma said.  
“Do you think that will be enough time for your alternate self to realize the baby didn’t die and that Gold has her?” Regina said.  
Emma spun around her chair and looked at Regina. “You think that the baby Belle has is really Alex?”  
“I think Gold is capable of anything,” she said. “So yes, I believe he either swapped children, or else Belle was never pregnant in the first place.”  
“How is that possible? I mean she would know if she was pregnant or not, right?”  
“Just about anything is possible with magic,” she replied. “Play the next video.”


	39. Chapter 39

The next video came on and a rather weary looking Emma appeared on the screen. She looked thinner than when they last saw her and there were dark circles under her eyes.

“I don’t even know why I turned this damn thing on,” she said before taking a drink of a beer. “I mean I didn’t bother when the anniversary of your death came around. I don’t even know what day your birthday is actually so I know I missed that too. Yet here I am talking to myself because I can’t talk to you. You know I used to watch some of the other videos – the ones where you were talking through me – just so I could get a sense of you. Crazy isn’t it?”

She looked away from the screen and took another drink of beer.

“Speaking of crazy, my parents think I am, crazy that is. No they haven’t said anything about it because they are too fucking nice. At first it was all about how they could help, how they could be there for me and now, well now my parents look at me like all the other foster parents did – like I am a disappointment.”

“And you know what I am a disappointment. I mean what exactly have I done that was a good thing? Broke your curse – yeah and if I hadn’t have done that then maybe Neal would still be alive. You would still be alive. Maybe Belle would still be alive.”

Another pause. Another drink.

“Sometimes I wonder like where your soul went. Is there some sort of heaven or hell out there, or just a waiting room until your soul is assigned to a new life? I guess the only way to know is to die. Now don’t be thinking I am saying that because I am going to off myself. Henry can’t have two parents who committed suicide. I know, I know, you didn’t commit suicide, but that’s what I put in that fucking report and that is what people believe. Except Henry of course.”

She took another fuller drink this time, finishing off the bottle. She got up and left the view of the screen and when she came back she had another bottle of beer.

“Henry. You sure did a great job raising that kid. He’s sharp. Very smart. And he’s doing just fine ever since he decided to strike out on his own. He tends your mausoleum – makes sure there are fresh flowers there for you all the time. I know because I probably go there just as much as he does if not more. I go there late at night usually. It’s better that way – so no one sees me there and so I don’t run into Henry. He still hasn’t forgiven me.”

“I tried to tell the truth. After Alex …”

She paused, taking another drink. “I tried to tell people that you didn’t kill yourself; that Killian had killed you and it was all a plot to get your soul, to make this vessel that was growing inside me. I tried to tell them that Alex wasn’t a real child. Well I am guessing you can guess how far that got me – that’s right, it got me a one way trip to Archie’s so I could talk about my grief over losing my child.”

“Not even Archie would believe me when I begged him to listen, begged him to believe that what I was saying was the truth. I even showed him one of the videos – one of the videos of you speaking through me. He looked at me with such … pity.”

“Henry though, Henry did believe me and hated me even more. He hated me for ruling your death a suicide and hated me for … for not letting him speak to you one last time so he could tell you that he loved you. I tried to tell him that you knew, you knew he loved you.”

She took another long drink. “Well after that, I just sort of kept to myself. I stopped talking to people about these things so they would stop thinking I was insane. I worked, and I worked, and I worked some more. I need to stay busy in order to not think about what complete shit I have made of my life. I even thought about leaving Storybrooke for good.”

“I thought I could start over again where no one knew me and no one cared if I fucked up or not. I wanted to go some place where I could forget I ever met you. Because you are the reason my life is shit. You are the one who cast that curse and I ended up growing up alone and as a result of that when I had the chance to be a mother I gave the kid up without even holding him in my arms. Then I get dragged here to this made up town with its fairy tale characters and all of a sudden I have to live up to the expectation of being the Savior, of being the daughter of Snow fucking White and Prince fucking Charming. And things were going good there for a bit. I had a family and I was happy or at least getting there. Then you had to kiss me. You kissed me that night and … and I hate you for it. I hate you.”

“I hate you so much.”

The video ended and neither woman said anything.

“She doesn’t hate you, or the other you I mean,” Emma said. 

“I know,” Regina said. “She’s clearly still trying to come to terms with what she has gone through.”

Regina looked at Emma and realized she was appreciative that the other woman felt the need to reassure her that her counterpart didn’t hate her. Emma had been in this Emma’s mind, but even without that she knew that this other Emma may be expressing hate but that isn’t what she was feeling.

“I guess we now know that Belle died more than a year after she um … may have given birth,” Emma said changing the subject. 

“You seem to doubt the idea that the babies were either switched or Belle wasn’t pregnant.”

“It’s not doubt so much as my unfamiliarity with magic and how Belle could think she was pregnant if she wasn’t,” Emma said looking at her.

“Magic is complex as I hope you are finally figuring out. It has more nuances than you might think. Pronounce a word wrong in a spell and you could end up with disastrous results. In this case, if she wasn’t pregnant it would be a matter of affecting her mind, not so much her body. Yes, she and others would need to see that she looked pregnant but it would be more of her mind telling her things like the baby was kicking of her having a craving, than her actually experiencing it for real. The mind is a powerful instrument that can also be manipulated well if you know how and trust me when I say Gold knows how.”

“But wouldn’t a doctor know she isn’t pregnant?”

“Again, you manipulate the mind of the person to make them think they are seeing a baby in there when they are not. Still, we may be dealing with a situation here where Belle was pregnant but when she lost the baby Gold had to act quickly and the result was him taking Alex to pass off as their child while making future you believe she had lost her baby.”

“I still don’t understand the purpose of any of this,” Emma said.

“Nor do I but hopefully these videos will produce an answer or answers.”

“And if they don’t?”

“I believe they will – at least about some of this. Your future self said there were answers here and I believe she is correct or she wouldn’t have told you to watch them.”

“Here’s hoping then,” Emma said as she hit play on the next video which was marked a couple of days after the last one.

Again tired looking Emma appeared on the screen, but this time it seemed she was without her beer. But Regina noticed immediately a look in her eyes as they seemed to dart from the screen to both sides as if she expected someone else to be there beside her. 

“You know I joked about being crazy but after today I wonder if maybe I am. Maybe I have finally lost whatever grip I had on reality.” 

She again looked to her sides and even looked behind her.

“Regina, if you are still there somewhere, I need you to contact me. You need to find a way to communicate with me. Please, just wherever you are, I need your help,” she said, running her fingers through her hair and again looking around her.

“Today was um Belle’s funeral. It’s been a few weeks since she died, but at first Gold wouldn’t let us near her body. He just stayed with it there in the ruins of the library and then when we finally got him to let us have her body, he just sort of left. He didn’t leave, leave, but he went to his shop and hasn’t been out since. Ruby has been watching Sabrina, their daughter because Gold hasn’t been in any shape to care for her I guess. I was there when he was sitting on the charred floor of the library holding Belle’s body and Snow suggested he needed to get up and go to Sabrina and be there for her and Gold looked at Snow like … well I don’t even know how to explain it except to say it wasn’t pleasant.”

“As for the kid, she is … she is different. I hadn’t actually seen her but a couple of times maybe, if that, I don’t really know. I haven’t wanted to see her. But today … today was …damn Regina I need your help. I need you to tell me that what I am thinking in my head, what I thought I saw and heard today couldn’t possibly have happened. I would rather be insane than for it to be true.”

Emma took a deep breath as if to compose herself before she began to speak again.

“I didn’t want to go to the funeral, but I felt like I had no choice and I liked Belle. We hadn’t really spoken much in the last year but that was on me. I just couldn’t … after losing the baby and she was so happy with her daughter … I just couldn’t.”

Emma stopped talking and sat there staring at the computer not saying anything for several heartbeats. “I went to pay my respects is all and I wasn’t the only one – the whole town was there practically. You know everyone liked Belle. Gold wasn’t though. He wasn’t there. That was why there was such a delay with her funeral because my mom ended up handling the arrangements because Gold didn’t or couldn’t. People got up and said really nice things about her as if there was ever anything not nice you could say about Belle.”

“I tried to pay attention but that girl, Sabrina, she kept distracting me. Ruby was holding her in the front pew and I was on the other side several rows back and the kid kept standing up on Ruby’s lap and I know how this is going to sound but I am telling you that every time the kid did that she was doing it to look directly back at me. And I couldn’t seem to look away from her. I couldn’t look away. Then the funeral ended and we went out to the cemetery and they buried her. I was ready to leave because Henry was there and he wouldn’t even look at me, when I felt something touch my leg. I looked down and there was Sabrina. Again I found myself unable to stop looking at her even as Ruby swooped in and picked her up. She had walked apparently over to me and Ruby was just in amazement as was mom because they hadn’t seen her walk or maybe that was her first steps, I am not sure because I wasn’t really paying attention. The kid, she hadn’t made a noise the entire time during the services and funeral and now she was crying and being fussy with Ruby. The kid was practically squirming to get out of Ruby’s arm and she was reaching out to me.”

“I don’t know what came over me but suddenly I was reaching out and telling Ruby I would hold her for a bit. I was staring at the little girl so intently that I didn’t even pay attention to how Ruby and mom must have been looking at me in that instance. Ruby asked me if I was sure, and I nodded. As soon as I was holding on to Sabrina she calmed down. She stopped crying and she stopped fussing.”

Emma paused once more, staring off into some area off screen. She licked her lips before she began to speak to the camera once more. “I felt this little girl in my arms and I wanted to take her. I wanted to take her home with me. In that moment nothing felt as right as to take her and flee. I felt her little arms reach up and she actually moved them like she was trying to hug my neck. And that’s when she spoke. This little girl who I wasn’t even sure was old enough to walk, spoke softly in my ear. She said ‘hi mommy.’”

“I nearly dropped her out of shock. Her voice was so clear, not like a baby’s voice. I gripped her tighter for some reason even as I suddenly felt like I wanted to be as far away from her as possible. Then she spoke again and she said …she said, ‘it’s me Alex, mommy. I made the other mommy go away because she wasn’t you.’”

“This time I dropped to my knees while holding her and there were Ruby taking her from me and Snow leading me away all while the little girl was just wailing and reaching out for me to take her once more. Even as mom was pulling me away I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. It wasn’t until I was alone in my car driving away from that place that I realized that when I was looking at her it was … it was your eyes looking back me. Regina she has your eyes. They are a perfect match. Those beautiful pools of color that were your eyes were looking back at me through that girl. But she isn’t a girl, is she?”

Emma rubbed her fingers across her forehead. “That’s why I need you to contact me Regina. I need you to somehow reach out to me to tell me that I didn’t hear her say that. I didn’t, I couldn’t have. See if you contact me then I know your soul is out there somewhere. I will know that it’s in some other unattainable place and not in that little girl. She said she made the other mommy go away. She was talking about Belle,” Emma said. “Belle died in a fire, a fire at the library. It was ruled accidental – an old building, old wiring. But here’s the thing, I read the report and they couldn’t pinpoint where the fire started, except it was in the room where Belle was at. She died of smoke inhalation. And Sabrina … Belle had her with her in the library that night and people think that Belle died trying to either put out the fire, or keep it from spreading to the room where Sabrina was. But what if that wasn’t the case? What if … Please Regina, please tell me I am crazy.”

Tears were coming out of Emma’s eyes at this point, her shoulders shaking from her crying. “Please Regina if you ever loved me, please contact me and tell me that she isn’t Alex. Tell me that isn’t you.”

The video stopped and Regina backed away from the desk completely. She walked over and poured herself a drink from the decanter, and drank it down before pouring herself another. She was about to drink it when Emma grabbed it from her hand and drank it instead. They looked at each other.

“That thing killed Belle,” Emma said.

Regina didn’t say anything. She was still struck by the horror of it. Gold had created a living magic – a magic that as a child had killed Belle. Future Emma had returned to that timeline afraid of being in it and Regina now knew why. In that not too distance future Gold had finally created a monster out of her. 

Somewhere within that child was a part of her – her soul had made Alex possible.

And if she could kill being less than two years old, what could she do in the future that Emma had returned to?


	40. Chapter 40

 

“We have to find a way to contact your future self?” Regina said finally.

“Excuse me?” Emma asked in shock.

“You heard her,” Regina said pointing toward the screen. “She is looking for a lifeline – a sign or something to …”

“To what? This has happened already for her at least. It’s not like you can call her up and say hello,” Emma said. “There isn’t anything we can do.”

“There has to be,” Regina said as she started to pace. “There has to be something we can do.”

“I am sorry,” Emma said putting a hand on Regina’s forearm to stop her. “There isn’t anything that we can do, except make sure that future never takes place.”

“But it’s not fair,” Regina said. “She is suffering.”

Emma, who still had a hand on Regina, considered not so much what Regina said as how she said it. Regina was showing genuine concern for this other Emma and it wasn’t even the Emma from the future who was her wife.

“All we have to do is prevent this future from happening,” Emma said. “We keep you from dying and this never happens. That is how we fix this.”

Regina pulled away from her. “She went back to that time,” Regina said. “She went back there and that thing is there and she was scared.”

“Oh, this is about the other Emma,” Emma said. This time she was the one who put the distance between her and Regina. “It’s not about that Emma on the videos, it’s about the other future Emma.”

“It’s about the one in the video, the one who was here and yes, it’s about you, and it’s about me and it’s about Henry,” Regina said. “It’s about Belle too. This thing Gold has created, we have to stop it and saying that the way to do is just to keep me from dying isn’t good enough. It’s not because he will find a way. You don’t know Gold like I do.”

“I think I know him well enough to know he isn’t to be trusted.”

“But it goes beyond that,” Regina said, some of her emotion beginning to wash off of her. She took a seat. “I didn’t know when I cast the curse that Gold arranged for all of this to find his son. Yet he put all these pieces into place –even you – so that the curse would be broken here and give him the opportunity to find Neal. He is patient. He waited years for me to reach the point where I would be ready to cast that curse. It shows how calculating he is and if he is planning on doing this – making this living magic then that plan I assure you has already been put into motion. Saying the only thing we need to do is stop me from dying may be too simplistic for what he has planned.”

“But stopping that future from taking place is the only thing we can do,” Emma said. “There is nothing we can do besides that.”

“No,” Regina said. “I don’t accept that. I won’t accept that.”

Emma sighed. “I don’t like this anymore than you do. I don’t want that to be my future and I don’t like the idea that my future self went back to that time. If there was someway other than simply preventing it from happening, I would do it, but I don’t know what that would be. Let’s say we could figure out a way to communicate with that Emma in the videos, what good would it do? Would it give her hope that she was indeed crazy and imagined that happened? That wouldn’t help because Alex would still be there because we know that Emma isn’t crazy, at least not about this.”

“I don’t care,” she said looking up at Emma. “We have to find a way to do something than just sitting here passively watching videos. If Gold means to go through with this then he will find a way. You can’t watch me every minute of every day. And Gold is patient. He will wait until the timing is right. We need someway that ensures this never comes to pass.”

Emma didn’t say anything at first. She walked over to where the dry erase board was with all their notes and studied it.

“But it didn’t come to pass,” Emma said pointing at the timelines belonging to her future counterpart – the one who married Regina. “Why didn’t it happen in that timeline? If Gold is planning it in this timeline why wasn’t he in that other one?”

Regina got up and joined her in front of the board. “I don’t know. Perhaps the reasoning for him wanting the living magic didn’t exist in that time.”

“Why not though? My future self seemed to think everything was the same up until the point I went back in time and brought Marian forward. Yet if Gold wanted that spell all those years ago in the past then he was already planning on using it at some point. Why now?”

“There is no way to know that without knowing what purpose he had for it,” Regina said.

“There has to be something else that makes the two timelines different,” Emma said. “Otherwise he would have tried it there too.”

“The only way to know what might be different is to talk to your future self,” Regina said. “And the only way to do that would be to be there in that future time.”

Emma looked at her, her eyes narrowing a bit. “You can’t be serious.”

Regina turned to the board where the timelines were laid out. “Zelena’s plan for that time portal was to go to the past. Until she came here I would have told anyone who asked that time travel simply wasn’t possible. But it is. Who is to say it can’t be used to move forward in time?”

 

**In the future**

 

The sun hadn’t risen yet when Emma stepped into the remains of the library. She had made the decision the day before that she couldn’t keep sitting idly by in that forest. Regina was due to be killed again in that past timeline and there was nothing she could do to prevent it.

She realized she had nothing left to lose. Her future, her wife, her Henry, her Alex were all gone because of this. All she had left was the chance to maybe defeat this other Alex using her magic and the magic of the Dark One. Perhaps she could at least do that for this Storybrooke.

She wished she could have at least said goodbye to the Henry of this time but he was up and out of the camp before she was – probably out hunting, she figured.

Stepping over a charred beam she couldn’t help but think of her earlier encounter with Alex. She wasn’t the child that the alternate Emma had been freaked out by. She was a full-grown woman at this point – apparently she had been a child one day, a teenager for a short time and now she was a young woman.

With the exception of the blonde hair, she looked like Regina and in some ways even carried herself like Regina.

It was thinking of that connection to her wife that had blinded Emma and kept her from truly acting against this abomination that had stood before her. Alex had defeated her easily, but had not killed her. Emma left Storybrooke feeling totally overwhelmed by her. She had gone back to Boston, she had watched all the videos and that is when she determined that the best way to beat Alex was to ensure she never came to be and in the meantime save her own future.

All she wanted was to be able to be there with her wife, with Henry and Alex. She wanted to see Henry pick up his little sister and tickle her only for Alex to try and tickle him. Henry always did a great job of pretending that he was indeed being tickled when he wasn’t. Emma had no doubt that despite their age difference there would never be a time when Henry wasn’t there for his little sister when she needed him.

As she made her way into the part of the library that wasn’t damaged by fire, she thought about Regina. She thought about their wedding day, the day of Alex’s birth, of sitting down at a dinner table with her or when they were alone in bed together. She knew she was being selfish for wanting to feel her wife’s lips on hers just once more time, but that is what she wanted. Even though she knew one kiss wouldn’t be enough.

“I love you Regina,” she whispered in the darkness.

She passed by stacks of books – books that Alex perhaps had read already. She didn’t often leave the library from what people said, and when she did leave it was always cause for concern because people didn’t know what to expect from her. But she hadn’t done anything since the Emma of this time had agreed to leave Storybrooke. That concerned Emma more than anything else because she was sure Alex was planning something.

She came into the main part of the library and saw Alex immediately. She was sitting at one of the desks, turning the page of book she was reading. Emma stepped forward, her hand gripping the dagger tightly.

“You are welcome to take a seat,” Alex said without lifting her head up.

Emma stayed where she was at, taking in the whole room to make sure she wasn’t walking into a trap.

As she continued to hesitate Alex looked up at her. Again Emma was struck by her eyes. They were human, yet inhuman. Looking at those eyes you knew this was not a human. Emma had given this some thought as to why her eyes seemed strange, and the only thing she could think of was that Alex’s eyes didn’t show any emotion. If anything they looked like they were made to suck in a person’s life but not offer up anything in return.

This time Emma didn’t think of Regina. This wasn’t her Regina. If anything this was a poorly made copy.

“That won’t be necessary,” Alex said indicating the dagger. “If I had wanted a confrontation with you, I could have easily found you where you hiding at in the forest. Instead I have been waiting for you to come here. Please, take a seat, we have much to talk about.”

“I’m not interested in sitting or talking with you,” Emma said raising the dagger in front of her.

“Yes but you are interested in returning to your time line, are you not?”

“That isn’t possible,” Emma said.

“Why because you tried once already?” Alex asked.

Emma took a step back, wondering how she knew that she had traveled back in time. Was she aware of the changes – of how Regina died at Hook’s hand the second time?

“I can’t get back to my future when you exist, so unless you plan on helping me by preventing your very existence, I don’t think we have much to talk about.”

Alex cocked her head to one side, a faint smile on her lips. “Oh,” she said. “I get it. You still think that this is your time line, that is has just been altered, right?”

Emma didn’t respond, but the confusion was clear on her face.

Alex laughed at her. “My dear Emma, this isn’t your time, that is.” She waved her hand and Emma saw what looked like a small portal elevated in the air in front of her. As she looked at it, she saw Regina, her Regina lying asleep in bed. Her heart ached to see her wife there, sleeping peacefully, probably only minutes away from being woken up by a certain toddler who insisted on climbing into bed with them every morning before going down to breakfast.

She reached out for that portal only for it to disappear.

“That is your time,” Alex said. “Not this one.”

“How is that possible?” Emma said, feeling scared now at the implications of it.

“Easy, I brought you into this time,” Alex said. “I needed you and I still need you. You see the Emma of this time was … inadequate to say the least for my needs so I needed another. Didn’t you think it odd that your memories of your time never went away? Or that those videos were so easy for you to find and access?”

Emma felt like she was going to have a heart attack. This wasn’t possible. She was torn out of her time because of what her past self had done. She didn’t even notice as Alex got up and moved around the table, pulling out a chair.

“You don’t look well,” Alex said. “Perhaps you should take a seat.”

Emma didn’t know why she did, only that she wasn’t sure her legs would keep supporting her. She took the offered seat and Alex moved back to her side of the table and sat down. Emma noticed small details suddenly – the book Alex had been reading was some sort of romance novel from what she could see of the cover. There were other romance novels stacked up on the edge of the desk. There was only a kerosene lamp on for light. A half of a bottle of water was sitting nearby.

“Why did you bring me here?” Emma asked.

“Good, I am glad we aren’t going to spend useless time debating whether I told the truth or not. Like I said, I needed you and I must say so far you have performed masterfully. Firstly let me apologize for pulling you from your actual time. I fully intend on sending you back so that you may be with your wife and children as soon as you are done here.”

“I don’t … I don’t understand,” Emma stuttered. “What do you mean I performed masterfully? What have you done?”

“You need to understand a few things first. Time is, well it is more complex than I feel like explaining to you. Let’s just say your time still exists and I can return you to it and no one will know you were ever gone. I can even make you forget any of this happened if it will soothe your conscious for when you return to your wife. I have been reading a lot and I understand people tend to feel guilty when they do something that society or they view as wrong and I would not want you to feel that way. You deserve to return to your Regina and live the life you were going to before I pulled you into this time line. I don’t want to be at odds with you despite what you might think. Yes, our last encounter was not too pleasant for you, but I didn’t kill you and I could have easily. I didn’t because frankly why would I go through the trouble of bringing you here if I was just going to kill you. My intention all along was for you to travel to the past.”

“Why? I was going there to try and fix things because I thought this was my timeline. I was trying to stop you.”

“I know,” Alex said simply. “Like I said, I have been reading a lot and I usually bounce from topic to topic trying to learn about this world but mostly about people. I have read nearly all the books on the topic of love.” She held up the book she had been reading. “You people put a high value on love. You let it dictate your decisions – good and bad. It’s really fascinating.”

She was actually beaming at this point and Emma became even more wary of her. “You love your wife, which was really the key. The Emma from this time, she too was in love with Regina but she messed up, and she was not what I needed. I need someone who loved Regina more than anything else—that is where you come in. I needed an Emma who was capable of making Regina love them back, and you succeeded. Congratulations.”

Emma was feeling beyond sick at this point. “Why did you need this? What is the point of any of this?”

“I would have thought that was obvious by now – Regina is the point of all of this. She has always been the point of all of this. From the moment I was born I have wanted to meet this woman, to talk to her and experience the connection I know we will both feel upon meeting. I need her, and I need you to get her for me.”

Alex stood once more. “I can tell you are confused still. Ask what you wish.”

Emma paused for a moment. She too got to her feet. “How? How do you think you are going to meet Regina when Regina has to die for you even to exi …” she didn’t complete the question, as a new thought came into her brain. “That past time I went back to, it’s not the past from this timeline is it?”

Alex smiled. “It’s the closest one I could find, one where Regina and Emma were at odds with each other. One where Regina was alone. It made for the perfect set up for another Emma to come in and how does the phrase go, ‘sweep her off her feet.’ As I have learned, love makes people do things they might not normally do – in this case I am betting the idea of the woman she loves going back to a time where she will be miserable will be too much for Regina to stand. She will do whatever she can – even something like moving through time in order to save the woman she loves.”

“No, wait. This timeline changed,” Emma insisted. “I went back and I changed things and this time line changed. Regina died differently. She was shot the first time and the second time, after I changed things, she was strangled by Hook.”

“Oh, really,” she said again smiling. “And where would you get that idea?”

“Henry,” Emma said. “His memories of it changed.”

“Henry,” Alex called out.

Emma turned and saw Henry coming through the stacks. He walked over to Alex and stood beside her.

“No,” Emma said, shaking her head. “This isn’t happening.”

“I am afraid it is. You see I am not the only one who is anxious for Regina to get here,” Alex said as she placed a hand on Henry’s shoulder. “I did promise him I would get his mother back. Funny, he is only concerned about the one.”

Emma looked and saw only hatred in Henry’s eyes. She took a step back from it.

“Why do you still need me?” Emma asked.

“Hasn’t it occurred to you yet to ask where the Emma of this time is?” Alex asked, again with that smile.


	41. Chapter 41

 

**In the future**

 

Emma followed Alex into the lower portion of the basement, her hand gripping the Dark One’s dagger tightly in her hand. Alex had her back to Emma and seemed completely unconcerned that Emma was following her with the dagger. It made Emma feel insecure.

If Alex was so willing to turn her back to Emma it meant she didn’t find Emma to be a threat.

Henry had left them – Alex telling him to return to the woods. Emma wondered what Alex had said to Henry or promised him exactly that he appeared to be on her side. Could this really be about Regina? And if so, what was Alex’s angle with it? She could understand Henry wanting to see his mother alive again, especially with her having been murdered in this time line.

Yet Alex now had her questioning everything.

If what Alex said was true, then her timeline was out there intact. Her wife and her Alex and her Henry were back home. She could return to them, or so Alex said, but Emma was sure that would come with a price – and would she be willing to pay that price?

They were in the basement now and Alex unlocked what appeared to be a storeroom for more books. She entered it and Emma followed, although she stopped immediately as she saw herself sitting on the floor against the back wall. There were two chains leading from her arms back to the wall. There was a cot in the room with blankets and a pillow, although this Emma didn’t appear to be taking advantage of it. This captured Emma was looking not at her, but at Alex.

“Does this mean you succeeded?” this other Emma asked.

“Not yet,” Alex said. “But I’m close as you can see.”

This time the other Emma did look at her. She studied her as if trying to find reasons that this wasn’t really another version of herself.

“I hope this shows you that I am not what you may think of me,” Alex said. “Your other self here has been kept fed and clothed. I mean her no harm, just as I mean you no harm.”

“If you mean her no harm, why is she locked up down here? Why is she in chains?”

“Oh, the chains are a recent addition and for your safety only. Normally, she is not confined like this, but certain precautions had to be made so that she didn’t kill you.”

Emma looked at her other self, seeing something in her expression that wasn’t exactly welcoming.

“Why would she try to kill me, she is me?”

“She is and she isn’t,” Alex said. “I’ve read much on the concept of nature vs nurture, have you ever researched it.”

“Can’t say as I have.”

“Pity,” Alex said. “There really is a fine library here. Anyway, the simplistic way to explain is whether a person is inclined to be one way because of their genetic makeup or if they are more inclined to be one way because of how they were raised. For instance, take you two – you are the same genetically, yet you have had different experiences so does that really make you the same person?”

“We aren’t,” the captured Emma said, getting to her feet. She walked over as far as the chains would allow her to go but she was still a couple of feet away from them. “I know we aren’t because despite the vast ways in which I’ve fucked up, I would never consider doing what you ask. Clearly this one doesn’t have such … reservations, I guess you could say.”

Emma looked from her other self to Alex confused as to what was going on. Her head was practically spinning at this point.

“Wait,” the other Emma said. “You don’t know what it is that she wants, do you?”

“We’ve not gotten the chance to speak specifics,” Alex said. “I wanted to show her that you were alive and well first so she doesn’t think of me as some monster.”

“You killed Belle!” the other Emma said lunging toward them only to be held back by the chains. “You are a monster.” She turned toward her this time. “Don’t do it. You can’t believe anything she says.”

Future Emma turned to Alex. “Did you really kill Belle?”

“I did,” Alex sighed. “I regret it, but at the time, I didn’t know any better. I was born just as a normal human child would be born, but you could say my development was accelerated. I understood some concepts early on – such as the concept of parents. I knew Rumplestiltskin and Belle were not my parents. How I knew, I’m not sure, I just knew. I was drawn to you though.”

She was looking at the captured Emma now. “I had seen you only a couple of times yet I knew that somehow I came from you and I was angry that this other woman was claiming to be my mother when she wasn’t. I wished her to be gone so I could be with you, so I made that happen. To my regret, I didn’t know about death. It wasn’t a concept I knew or understood at the time, although that was my first lesson in it. Then you held me in your arms after the funeral and it felt unlike what I ever felt when Belle held me. There was a connection there that wasn’t there with Belle, but you either didn’t feel it or didn’t want to and you rejected me. Again I didn’t understand.”

She turned again to the future Emma.

“It’s why I stay here in the library. It’s why I read all of these books. I need knowledge. I need to understand so I don’t make such a mistake ever again.”

Emma felt like she was dealing more with a child than the grown adult that Alex appeared to be, but child or adult, she still didn’t trust her.

“If you are reading things so you understand, do you understand that locking her up here, that’s not right? That isn’t something you should be doing,” future Emma said.

“Would you like me to release her?” Alex asked.

“Yes.”

Alex waved her hand in front of her and the chains that bound the other Emma fell to the ground. Even before they hit, Emma was moving forward. Future Emma didn’t have time to react as the other Emma slammed into her, pushing hard through the doorway and up against the wall behind her. The dagger fell from her hand and the next thing she knew the other Emma had her hands wrapped around her neck.

Future Emma moved her hands up between other Emma’s arms and forced her arms and hands away from her.

“What the …”

Before she could get the sentence out other Emma had punched her face. She got another blow in but future Emma blocked the third attempt. She pushed the other Emma in order to get some room to better defend herself, but the other Emma didn’t go far. In fact both women noticed the dagger lying there at the same time and went for it. Other Emma was slightly faster but before she could use it to slash at her Alex intervened, using her magic to restrain other Emma.

“See now why I said I had her restrained for your protection?” Alex said. She forced the other Emma to drop the dagger and then forced her back into the room which she locked. Future Emma picked up the dagger and shoved Alex against the now closed door, putting the dagger at her throat.

“You are going to start giving me some real answers to what the hell is going on here,” she said. “What is this all about?”

“I told you already, it’s about Regina. I want to meet her, to talk to her. She is my mother.”

“No she isn’t,” Emma said pushing the dagger into her skin and seeing a small trace of blood come out. “She isn’t your mother. Now tell me the truth or so help me I will slice your neck open.”

“Do it,” she heard her counterpart yell through the door. “End her.”

“If you do that, you will not get to return home to your Regina,” Alex said.

“I don’t care.”

“Yes you do,” Alex said, using the same calm, neutral voice she had been all along. “Everything you have done up to this moment has been about getting back to her and back to your Alex and your Henry. You aren’t going to give up now when you are so close to getting back to your family. All I need of you is one more thing. That is all. You do this one thing and I will return you to your time. I will do as I said upstairs – I will return you so no one knows you left. I will erase your memories of all of this so you don’t need to worry about what is going on back here.”

“No,” Emma said. “I’m not doing anything to help you. I don’t trust you and I’m not going to put Regina’s life at risk, or anyone’s life at risk. You shouldn’t even exist.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t but I am here,” Alex said. “I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t ask to be created. I would not have asked to be created if it were an option. I am here all the same. I only want what everyone else in this world wants.”

“What is that?”

“A family,” Alex said. “You say Regina isn’t my mother, and you’re right, she isn’t really my mother, but that doesn’t mean she and I aren’t connected. Just as I am connected with the you that is in there. I want to talk with her and see if she is someone who can finally understand me and teach me and guide me, maybe even love me. I have no expectations about how I will be received by her and I have no right to be. That is why I need you. When Regina shows up here as I know she will, all I ask of you is to bring her here, introduce us, that is all. You don’t need to do anything else and I will return you to your time as promised.”

Emma eased the dagger off of her only so that it wasn’t digging into her skin any longer, but she kept it close enough that she could use it.

“Why should I believe you?”

“You shouldn’t!” yelled the other Emma. “Finish her off now.”

Alex shrugged. “There is nothing I could say that would make you believe me, we both know that. All I can tell you is that you don’t get to go back to your time without my assistance, and that assistance will only happen if you do what I ask. Regina is coming here regardless. There is nothing you and I can do to change that now that the path has been set before her. That is why I needed you. I needed her to care about you enough to risk coming forward in time, and I am confident she will. I don’t need you to introduce me to her. I could do it myself.”

“Then why? Why not send me back to my time now? Why ask this of me?”

“Because Regina cares for you, she will listen to you and I think that will make our meeting more amicable if I have you as an ambassador of sorts.”

“Do you expect me to tell Regina you are a good person or something?”

“No,” Alex said. “I expect you will be your honorable self and tell her the truth. You will tell her of this meeting, of this other Emma. You will tell her you don’t trust me.”

“If you know I will tell her these things then what is the point?”

“The point is that I don’t need, nor want Regina to have some false idea of me. This is not some trap I’m asking you to lead her into. Once she and I meet, I will return you to your time as promised. If at any time Regina wants to be returned to her time, I will see it done. I know Regina’s story. I know how she was manipulated into casting the curse that created this place. Rumplestiltskin made her into a weapon he could use. That is something she and I have in common. I wish to speak to her of these things, of how they make me feel,” she said. “I believe she is the only one who can understand this.”

“Don’t listen to her,” other Emma yelled. “She would not go through all of this to have a fucking talk with Regina. If it’s so easy for her to return you to your time or return Regina to hers, why did she do any of this? Why didn’t she bring Regina to her if it that fucking easy for her to move people through time? She’s trying to manipulate you.”

And there it was, something that had been bothering Emma since she had spoken to Alex upstairs.

She pressed the dagger in once more. “She’s right. If you are so all-powerful, why not just bring Regina to you in the first place. Why go through of this? You have no intention of sending me back to my home, do you?”

“I have every intention of doing so. I could do it in this moment before you got the chance to cut my throat. I’m only allowing you to have this power position because it is what you feel you need in this moment. I don’t see you as a threat to me,” Alex said. “But to answer your counterpart’s question and your own – I’m not all-powerful. If I was, I could have brought Regina up through time. I actually tried it, but I couldn’t do it. I’m not even sure why I can’t, but I can’t. You on the other hand, I could for whatever reason, so I came up with this plan. Like I said, the Emma in there is flawed and was of no use to me so I sought you out. Again I apologize for putting you through this, for taking you away from your family.”

Alex was looking at her with those eyes that showed Emma nothing. She couldn’t use her powers to tell if this being was lying or telling the truth, but her instinct told her all of this was a lie.

“You said you would let Regina go back to her time if she wanted, but you just admitted you do not have that ability,” Emma said. “Stop lying to me.”

“I’m not lying. I said I would see it done and I will,” Alex said. “But that is only if she wants to go back. What you don’t understand is that in the time she is in now, outside of Henry, she has nothing to go back to. Because of your younger self’s actions she lost out on love with Robin. You made her care about you, but you can’t make your younger self care about her. She doesn’t. The time line that she is in, Regina is destined to end up alone, not alone like she was in this time line, but alone nonetheless. She may find this time line is more to her liking or she may not. I would not take that choice away from her. She has lived too many years of others making the choices for her. I will not, I can not do that to her.”

Emma knew the pain Regina felt over the way she had been herded for part of life in directions she never wanted to go in. She remembered the night Regina cried in her arms as she talked about her wedding night to the king. Emma had felt sick knowing that was her grandfather but she had remained strong throughout because she knew Regina had been holding onto that pain for so long and she finally had someone she could talk to about it. Regina had made herself strong and powerful, thinking that was the way out of being controlled by others but in doing so she had unwittingly became the pawn of the Dark One.

Taking away Regina’s choice would be the worst thing she could experience.

The fact Alex understood that without ever meeting her made Emma wonder how much of who Alex was, was actually who Regina was.

Emma pulled away from her. She needed time to think this through.

“Answer me one more question.”

“Anything.”

“Why did Rumplestilskin have you created?”

Alex looked away from her, and Emma saw a new expression cross over her face – concern or was that fear.

“I said why did Rumplestilskin have you created?” Emma repeated.

“Some thing is wrong,” Alex said. “The time line …”

Alex ran, heading back up the stairs with Emma close on her heels. Emma grabbed her and pulled her back around. “What’s wrong?”

“Regina,” she said. “Something has happened to her in that other time line.”

“What?”

“I don’t know,” Alex said.

That is when Emma realized the expression she saw was one of fear.


	42. Chapter 42

In the present

 

It was hard for Regina to concentrate on being mayor when all she wanted to do was be in her vault reading every thing she could get her hands on about magic to find a way to move forward in time. Such an idea as time travel would have once been unfathomable to her, but now that she knew it was possible she knew there had to be a magical way to use the portal that her sister had already created.

If only future Emma had explained how she had gotten back into this time then Regina wouldn’t be stressed over finding the answer. Even admitting she was stressed was something she would not have admitted to that long ago.

It had been days since she had come to the determination that the only way to deal with this problem was in the future, not the past. It was not a sentiment that Emma of this time shared.

It had caused a rift to form between them once more.

This time Regina wasn’t going to back down.

Future Emma had lost everything she had held dear and it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that she should be suffering now in some future where her life was devoid of love. Regina felt like she owed it to her to try and help.

All her thoughts were consumed by wondering what that future time was like and how Emma was faring in it. From the glimpses they got through the video diary it didn’t sound like a place anyone would want to be in.

The video diary was now out of her hands as well. After their argument, Emma had taken it with her as she left. So much for Emma trying to keep her safe, Regina had thought as she attempted to sleep that night. She didn’t want to admit it, but she felt less secure being there in the house without Emma. She knew it was silly to feel that way as she had slept there many times alone or with just Henry with her. If anything having a guest spending the night was more odd and should make her uneasy. Having Emma there though hadn’t felt that way.

Still when she woke from her unsteady sleep she made a mental note that this Emma was not the future Emma who had cared for even if she wasn’t her wife yet, and she wasn’t even the Emma from the alternate timeline who even in when she sounded the most unhinged – had still loved Regina.

Maybe too much had happened at this point for her and the Emma of this time to ever make a go of it. Maybe it was impossible.

Either way, Regina could not get the idea out of her head that future Emma needed to be helped. Her whole life had been torn away from her and even when she came back in time to fix it, it had failed, leaving her no choice but to go back to that alternate future. If Regina could find a way to get there, then she was sure there would be a way back – for both her and the future Emma.

Her Emma had come by the day after their disagreement, but it only led to another argument. Emma had thought that Regina would see things her way after she had time to think it through. If anything Regina was even more committed to her course of action and Emma was still of the mind that messing with time was the wrong way to go about anything.

Regina wasn’t ready to give up on future Emma though and she couldn’t understand why Emma was so against helping her. Or why she thought enough had changed back here or could be prevented back here that it would make everything alright. It wouldn’t, of that Regina was sure.

She tried to shake the thoughts from her head and concentrate on her work. She barely made any progress in her work day when she decided to leave promptly at 5 p.m. Carrying her purse close to her she got into her car and drove to a place she hadn’t been in a long time, to see someone she hadn’t seen in a long time. Going into the lower levels of the hospital, she was unsure what to expect when she was shown to the room where Sidney was being held. He had been locked away here in the secure ward after his false confession in Kathryn’s disappearance and Regina had written him off as no longer being useful to her. Now it seems she had a use for him. She could only hope he still felt some loyalty to her in order to get the questions she needed answered from him.

The door was unlocked by the orderly and she walked in to the small room. Sidney had been lying down on the bed reading a book but upon seeing her he got up immediately. The door was closed behind her and she heard it lock. She had assured the orderly she would be fine in there alone and she would knock on the door when she was ready to be let out.

“Hello Sidney,” she said.

“It’s been a while my queen,” he said and she detected a slight sneer as he said “my queen.”

“I have need of your particular skills.”

“And what skills could I possibly offer while locked away in here,” he said. He stared her down, something he would not have done previously, and Regina knew that she wouldn’t be relying on her charm to get him to do as she wanted. It mattered not. She had no desire to be charming to him.

She had used him over and over again, yet she still found no reason to regret her actions in regards to him. Emma’s assessment of him was not incorrect – he was a little creepy when it came to Regina, and while Regina was willing to use that to her advantage in the past, she didn’t want to encourage that in him any longer.

“Your skills in translating,” she said as she pulled the spell book from the newspaper she had wrapped it in. Upon seeing it Sidney immediately backed away. He perhaps knew better than anyone what this book was all about and right now she needed that knowledge.

“Why have you brought that here?” he asked.

“Because I need you to translate it from cover to cover,” Regina said, putting it back in the wrapping for now. She didn’t like holding it and she wanted Sidney’s attention on her, not the book.

“I will not.”

“Don’t pretend like I am giving you a choice in this matter,” she said. “If you ever wish to get out of here, you will do as I say.”

He laughed at her. “And under what authority do you think you can do that?”

“I’m still mayor of Storybrooke in case you haven’t been getting your subscription to the newspaper,” she said. “And beyond that I have my magic as well.”

“I don’t care what power you have,” he said. “I still will not translate that book for you or anyone else.”

“Sidney,” Regina said approaching him. “I would not be here if this weren’t important.”

“And what act of vengeance are you embarking upon today that you need that book?” Sidney asked. “Perhaps against the fair sheriff? Even down here I hear things and I pay attention. I understand the sheriff brought back the wife of Robin Hood once again shattering your chance at happiness. Like mother like daughter I guess. I can assume you are looking for a particularly nasty spell in which to inflict the pain of your heartache onto those who have wronged you. Does it ever get old my queen, this need for petty revenge? Does nothing else but vengeance give you a thrill now that you no longer have the Hood between your bed sheets?”

“Careful,” she said, not rising to the bait he was throwing out there. “As for what I want with the translation, I don’t actually know.”

She turned her back on him, daring him to try something, but when he didn’t she turned back and she saw a bit of the old Sidney there in his face – the kind that was interested in intrigue.

“If you don’t know, then why do want it translated?”

“You were right when you said it had something to do with the sheriff, but not in the way you think,” she said. “Do you mind if I take a seat?”

He didn’t say yes or no, so she took a seat on the edge of the bed, crossing her legs and placing the book in her lap. She picked up the book he had been reading and gave him a curious look as he was reading Eat, Pray, Love.

“All I do is read, a little variety never hurts,” he said, taking the book from her and placing it on the small stand next to the bed.

“I wasn’t being critical,” she said. “Now as I was saying, I’ve been told this book is important – for what reason I do not know, but I was hoping with a translation of the spells in it that I could find out why.”

“And who told you that it was important – Rumplestiltskin again?”

“No, it was Sheriff Swan actually.”

“Sheriff Swan? And how does the sheriff even know of that book?”

“That is a long story,” Regina said. “But it seems Em … Sheriff Swan has made a habit out of traveling to the past, my past actually. Do you remember when I traveled to Agrabah?”

“Of course.”

“Well an incident happened while I was there, something I hadn’t recalled until recently – I was robbed of this book on the night before I left. I chased down the thief easily enough and this thief merely gave me the book back, telling me to hold on to it, which I did. Now as it turns out, that thief was none other than our sheriff.”

“The sheriff traveled back in time and stole that book, why?”

“I don’t know why, nor does she as clearly the time for her going back in time hasn’t happened yet.”

This time he turned from her and she let a small smile grace her lips. She could tell he was now hooked. His curiosity would demand an answer to this, which meant he would have to help her.

He was silent for several minutes and she didn’t interrupt his thoughts – letting him consider all the possibilities on his own. Finally he faced her once more.

“I warned you before of the dangers of that book,” he said. “Nothing has changed to make it any less dangerous. I will not help you.”

She got to her feet and advanced on him. “You listen to me, I will know what this book says one way or another,” she said. “You don’t want me as an enemy.”

“Ah, but we are already in those roles, are we not?”

“Damn it Sidney, I need this.”

Sidney smiled at her and she backed up realizing she had given him the upper hand by revealing how desperate she was for this translation.

“Get me out of here first, then I will consider translating it,” he said.

“I will get you out of here and you will do more than consider it, you will do it,” she said.

She walked over to the door and knocked on it. As soon as it opened the orderly yelled, “watch out.”

She turned in time as Sidney jammed something into her midsection. Whatever it was, it was sharp and pain flared through her. She looked down and saw blood, her blood, coming out of the wound. She fell backward against the orderly who kept her from falling all the way down.

Sidney pushed through the door and rammed his elbow into the orderly’s nose, causing him to drop Regina. She got back to her feet, her hand holding her wound, trying to keep pressure on it. She watched as Sidney took out the orderly, dropping him unconscious to the floor. He looked at her now and she saw he still had the weapon in his hand as he approached her.

Using her magic she tossed him down the corridor. He landed and didn’t move. She bent down and got the spell book as she couldn’t risk it. She walked slowly down the hall, knowing help was beyond that door. She hadn’t been allowed to carry her purse in so her phone was also out there. She passed by Sidney, giving him as wide a berth as she could. There was still a feeling of disbelief that he had attacked her.

Nearing the door, she began to feel a little faint and she paused just a moment before taking the final steps to the door. Hands grabbed her from behind, one clamping down on her mouth so she couldn’t cry out for help another blocking the arm that she wasn’t using to keep pressure on the wound. She kicked backward, hoping to jar Sidney loose enough for her to use her magic once again. She caught his leg, but not with enough force to get him to let go.

Instead he flung her to the ground hard and before she could raise her hand to use her magic, he stomped down on her midsection – this time she cried out loudly in pain. She never even saw the next blow come but she felt her head knocked back – and then blackness.

…

Emma was angry at Regina, perhaps more so than any other time with the exception of when Henry ate the poisoned turnover. She was beginning to see why Regina had made so many mistakes in her life – it was because she refused to listen to reason.

She knew that wasn’t a fair assessment but right now Emma wasn’t thinking of being fair.

What she was thinking about was how she had gone from kissing Regina a few days ago and sort of admitting there were feelings there to both women effectively ignoring each other. Again, not a totally fair assessment.

She just didn’t understand why Regina was so insistent on going to the future to help out the other Emma. Well, she knew why, it was because that Emma meant something to Regina … she forced herself to stop that thought before completing it. This is all she had been doing for days now – having an internal argument about the merits or lack thereof of Regina’s actions.

She was afraid that Regina was becoming so obsessed with the idea of helping future Emma that she was going to ignore what Emma considered to be the true threat back here – Gold (and Hook).

She wished for once for there to be some normalcy around Storybrooke.

Currently, she was on her way home. She had Henry tonight and she was getting off work later than normal. Her parents had taken Henry out to dinner and Emma knew she had some leftovers she could heat up for herself when she got there. Once Henry went to bed she planned on sitting down and watching the rest of the videos. There weren’t many left and she was hoping that this impasse with Regina would be over and they would watch them together but that wasn’t going to happen apparently. She hadn’t heard from the other woman since they got into the fight the other day and Emma had already decided that Madam Mayor needed to be the one to make the first move. After all, she was in the wrong, Emma wasn’t – or at least that is the way Emma figured it.

She was parking her car when her phone went off and she saw it was the dispatch center.

“Sheriff Swan,” she said.

“Sheriff, we got a call over at the hospital, I think you should get over there,” the dispatcher said.

“What’s going on?”

“They had an escape in the secure ward. A couple of orderlies were injured.”

“Who escaped?”

“Sidney Glass.”

“I’m on my way,” Emma said. She put her car in gear and immediately called Regina. She got her voicemail after several rings. “Regina, call me when you get this. Sidney Glass escaped from the secure ward at the hospital.”

Once she left the message she called Henry to let him know she got called out, although she didn’t specify what it was for. Arriving at the hospital, she was shown downstairs to the secure ward and over to the security desk that was there. She recognized the purse sitting there. Only one person in town walked around with designer purses that were worth more than some people’s paychecks.

“Is the mayor here?” she asked, looking around.

“No sheriff,” a guy said who was getting checked out by a nurse. “She was in visiting Mr. Glass at the time. Rodney, he um was the one who was standing guard, he said Mr. Glass attacked the mayor as she was leaving.”

“Attacked? Is she ok?”

“Don’t know. She wasn’t here when I came to. I heard a commotion and was coming back to investigate. I looked through the glass there in the door and saw the mayor and Rodney lying on the floor. I rushed in and that is when Mr. Glass jumped me. When I woke up, she wasn’t here.”

“What about this Rodney guy?”

“He’s upstairs,” the nurse said. “His nose was broken. He’s probably been sedated by now.”

“Did anyone see Sidney leave the hospital, or Regina for that matter?”

“Not that I know of,” the nurse said.

Emma got on the phone and called her father and the other deputies in, telling them to get to the hospital. They were going to put this place on lock down and search every room if they had to. Emma walked into the hallway and she saw the drops of blood on the floor and wondered how many of those were Regina’s.

Hours later Emma’s frustration level was as high as it could go. They hadn’t found any trace of Regina or Sidney. The other Rodney was of no help once he woke either as he had been unconscious for pretty much the entire encounter, although he did say how Regina had been stabbed with something. Emma could only guess that Sidney had made some sort of shank although it was only a guess since nothing had been recovered.

While she didn’t have the patience for it, she and her father were now going over video footage. There were two cameras in the secure ward, neither of which showed the hall, only the outside security desk area. Emma tried to control her anger as she saw Sidney dragging an unconscious Regina out into that area. The blood stain on her shirt was more than evident.

Then Sidney disappeared for nearly 25 minutes, coming back down the elevator wearing scrubs and pushing a gurney. He placed Regina on the gurney and strapped her down. He placed what looked to be gauze and a bandage on her wound before putting blanket over her. He pushed the gurney back on the elevator and they had to wait as the security guard switched up the video feeds for them to see him exit the elevator. Unfortunately, they couldn’t follow him very far because the cameras in the hospital were spaced apart and there were many holes in coverage.

The guard who was helping them with the footage however recognized it when Sidney turned down another corridor where there were no cameras. “That leads to the back bay,” he said. “Where we keep the ambulances.”

They all went down there and discovered an ambulance was indeed missing. It was their first lead and it was a good one Emma thought as an ambulance wasn’t exactly an easy to hide vehicle. She got the deputies out on the roads in search of it.

Leaving her father to wrap up things in the hospital, she too began patrolling. It wasn’t long before one of the deputies was contacting her to say he found the ambulance. She rendezvoused with him, pulling up behind his car. The ambulance was parked next to the used car lot in town. He had already told her that the ambulance was empty, but gurney was inside as was more evidence of blood.

She looked around, not finding any other blood evidence leading from the vehicle. Sidney had to have taken Regina from it, but where?

“Get the owner of that car lot here now,” she told the deputy. “We need to know if any of his cars are missing.”

While she waited for that to happen she got into the back of the ambulance again, not sure what she was looking for. She picked up the discarded blanket, seeing the blood on it and she wondered how much Regina had lost, and how much more she could afford to lose. The back of the ambulance was in disarray and Emma wondered if Regina had woken and perhaps tried to fight off Sidney, but as she looked closer she realized that the mess was mostly from the containers on the ambulance being emptied out as if someone was looking for something. She got on the phone with her dad. “Hey can you get one of the EMTs out here pronto. I need to know specifically what might be missing from this ambulance.”

“What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know yet,” Emma said. “Looks like some was rifling through this stuff like they were looking for something. We know Regina was hurt so … I don’t know, just grasping at this point.”

“No, it’s a good thought. I will get one over to you fast, and Emma, don’t worry, we are going to find her.”

“Yeah, have you heard from mom?”

“She is with Henry, but she hasn’t told him what is going on yet.”

“Good.”

She got off the phone and out of the ambulance, taking a walk around the car lot to see if she could see anything out of the ordinary – she didn’t. The owner showed up not long after the EMT, who was busy in the ambulance doing an inventory. The owner, Mr. John Wise, walked with her around the lot with his inventory list.

“There is nothing missing,” he said.

“Are you sure?”

“I can check again, but I don’t think anything is.”

“Double check please.”

He nodded and began his double check. She walked over to the ambulance. “Find out what is missing yet?”

“Not everything, that will take a more thorough inventory, but from what I can tell so far, basic medical supplies were taken – things like bandages, needles, surgical thread, gauze – things needed to patch up a wound,” he said.

“Keep checking,” she said, walking away. It would appear Sidney didn’t want Regina bleeding out if he took those items, but the question was where did he take her?

“Sheriff.”

She turned to see Mr. Wise there. “Find something missing.”

“Not one of mine, but I got to thinking, there is always a car parked over there,” he said pointing across and down the street. “It’s an old Mustang, in great shape, but the owner is an older guy – only takes it out to go grocery shopping. I’ve never seen him take it out this late at night. The guy lives there above the hardware shop. He used to own it but his son operates it now. Mr. Jenkins I think is his name. Only reason I know it I offered to take the car off his hands but he has refused my offers.”

“Thanks,” she said, jogging down the street to speak to this Mr. Jenkins. Fifteen minutes later she had a description of the stolen Mustang out to her deputies.

Her phone was ringing less than a minute later – it was her dad.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“I need you over here on Oakwood at Dr. Whale’s residence.”

“Why?”

“The hospital had been trying to get a hold of him and couldn’t to let him know about the escape. I drove by, found Whale inside tied up. Sidney has been here. He forced the doc to patch Regina up.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Even as she was speeding over she felt a small measure of relief that Dr. Whale had worked on Regina. There was an ambulance parked outside of Dr. Whale’s house when she arrived. She walked in to find him on the couch, a nurse administering to him, putting a bandage on his arm near the elbow.

“Did he hurt you?” she asked.

“No,” he said, looking tired. “This is from the transfusion I needed to give Regina. I’m a universal donor.”

“Is she ok?”

He shrugged. “She sustained a puncture wound. It went deep, but didn’t appear to hit anything crucial, but she had lost a lot of blood by the time I saw her. Transfusion was really the only choice at the time since Sidney wouldn’t let me call for an ambulance. As I told your father, she never woke up the entire time. She had bruising on her midsection and on her head.”

“Did he give any indication of where he was taking her?”

“I don’t think he knew himself,” Whale said. “He was on edge the entire time and seemed to be making things up as he went along. I don’t think he planned for any of this.”

“Did he make any phone calls, reach out to anyone while he was here?”

“No. He had me sew her up. I insisted on the transfusion. Once it was done, he tied me up and left with her. I will say, he was handling her gently when he brought her in and took her. He wasn’t being rough with her in anyway.”

“Thanks,” she said. “And not just for the info.”

He nodded, accepting her thanks which was directed toward his actions in helping Regina.

Emma walked over to her father who was standing at the front door. “He can’t take her out of Storybrooke so that is our one advantage here,” he said.

“Yeah,” she said.

“Do you have any idea why she went to see Sidney in the first place?” he asked. “The orderly said she had that package with her.”

“I don’t know,” she lied. She knew why Regina went and in fact she had seen the package in question as had her father. Sidney had it according to the video feed, and Emma could tell based on the shape that it was most likely the spell book that Regina had wanted him to translate.

“Doesn’t make sense,” Charming said. “According to the logs, Regina hasn’t been to see him at all until today, so what prompted it? Did he know she was coming to see him or was this as Whale said unplanned?”

“I don’t think it was planned,” Emma commented. “I think Sidney saw an opportunity and took it. The important thing is that we find her.”


	43. Chapter 43

**In the future**

“What do you mean something has happened to Regina in the other time line? How do you know that?” Emma said as they got back to the main floor of the library.

“Some thing changed, a major change from the course it was on,” Alex said. “I don’t have specifics.”

“But how do you even know that it changed?”

Alex let out an exasperated sigh. “Think of time as strings in a piano. Each one is set to a certain tuning. I can sense those tunes and know when they are out of tune from where they should be,” she explained. “Some thing major happened in that time line or I wouldn’t have sense the changed.”

“How do you know it has to do with Regina?”

“Because I just do.”

“Not good enough,” Emma said. “How do you know?”

“It was her soul, her soul that allowed me to come into being,” Alex said. “She is the reason why I can sense those other times but only in so far as it relates to her. I am not all-seeing or all-knowing. But it was my connection to her that allowed me to find you in your time line in the first place.”

This was all above Emma’s head at the moment, but she really only had one concern. “Ok, so how do we figure out what happened?”

“The only way to know for sure is to be in that time line.”

“Fine, send me back.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Again, I’m not all-powerful,” she said. She began rummaging around with some books, throwing those aside that were not what she was looking for.

“Wait, if you supposedly send me back to my own time, why can’t you do this?”

“Because you belong in your time. It’s only my magic that keeps you from popping back there on your own because that is where you belong.”

“So you weren’t really going to send me back, you were just going to stop the magic you are using to actively keep me here?”

“Perhaps we could argue the merits of my actions later Miss Swan.”

Emma felt a chill with the way she had said that. It was so much like Regina.

“I still don’t understand why if I have been to that time already why I can’t go back?”

“We could fill libraries with what you don’t know,” Alex said. “The only reason you were able to go back in the first place was because of how I arranged things. Do you really think after all I have revealed to you that you stumbled upon the spell that sent you back, a spell that required a massive amount of the dark magic, magic you only got from that dagger. I led you every step of the way. But that spell as you know was not everlasting. It was a one-time trip that you can’t make again. The idea was to prevent people from constantly using it to pop back to their past and changing things.”

“Does that mean someone else can use it and go back?”

“Yes,” Alex said flipping through what appeared to be a book of magic.

“Then why don’t you go back?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” Emma said getting angry. She didn’t like the idea of Alex going back there either, but she was more concerned with what was happening back there.

“You were able to go back because of your past self being there. Your soul recognized itself back there and that is what allowed it. I don’t have a past self to go back to,” she said, almost sounding sad about it.

“Then we find someone else to do it.”

“Is your thinking always this simplistic?” Alex asked looking up at her. “Do you not have the ability to understand complex concepts?”

“Here is a concept for you, I kill you now, your magic stops working and I go back to my own time, how is that a concept for you?”

Alex laughed, “So now you are willing to throw aside Regina of the past for your own happiness?”

“Fuck you,” Emma said. “Just tell me what needs to be done.”

“Here is the problem, to do the spell the person has to have the ability to do magic. In this town that leaves you and I. Secondly, it requires dark magic hence the dagger. Thirdly, it has so be someone who exists in that past so that their soul has some place it recognizes and can go there. We’ve already established that neither you nor I can go back so why don’t you sit down, shut up and give me time to find something that will work,” she said.

Emma stepped away, frustrated, but knowing she needed to let Alex find some other way to do this. She was pacing and then stopped. “You said I couldn’t cast the spell again, but what about other me?”

“What?”

“The me downstairs, can she do it? Her soul would recognize our past self as well. I mean I know we are the same person but we’re not exactly. Can she do it?”

Alex considered it. “I do not know,” she answered. “I do not know if the spell would differentiate between the two of you or whether it would think you were the same person and not allow it.”

“It’s worth trying isn’t it?”

Again Alex paused to consider this. She was taking a long time and Emma was getting more frustrated.

“What?” Emma said.

“Two issues. One, transferring the Dark One’s curse to her so she can use the dagger without having to kill you to do it. That is actually the least of my concerns.”

“So what is the other one?”

“You’ve seen your counterpart. She’s not exactly … stable would probably be the best word for it. Unleashing her in the past might not be a good thing.”

“I admit she’s a little off, but I’ve seen those videos … wait, was that actually her in the videos or was that another one of your ploys to set me up?”

“It was her,” Alex said. “As you know I wasn’t even born yet when those videos started. My only involvement there was in leading her to the idea of going to the past, which is where you got the idea for it.”

“You and I are going to have a reckoning one of these days,” Emma said. “But for now let’s concentrate on the problem at hand. As I was saying I’ve seen the videos and that Emma down there also loved her Regina. She will do what is necessary to make sure the one in the past is ok. She won’t do it for you or for me, but she will do it for Regina.”

“Love does seem to make you people do things that defy logic,” Alex commented.

“Trust me, she will do it.”

“Ok,” Alex said. “I will still need some time to figure out how to transfer the Dark One’s curse to her, unless you are willing to let her kill you for it. No. I didn’t think so. Now do try and sit there and be quiet so I can work.”

“I will be downstairs trying to talk some sense into her,” Emma said leaving. Alex never even looked up to watch her leave. Walking down the stairs Emma felt frustrated and useless. If there was something going on in the past, and based on Alex’s reaction she was willing to believe it, then that is where Emma wanted to be. She knew that Regina wasn’t really her wife, but it didn’t matter. She wanted her to be safe. She needed her to be safe.

She walked up to the door and knocked on it. “It’s me,” she said through the door.

“What do you want?” the other Emma replied.

“We have a problem.” She went on to explain the situation as best as she could, hoping this other her was sane enough to understand it.

“So you don’t actually know if I can perform this spell?” the other Emma asked after she was done explaining.

“No, but right now it’s our best shot,” Emma replied. She took a seat against the door, pulling her knees up to her chest not knowing her counterpart was in the exact same position on the other side of the door. “Why did you attack me?”

“Because you wouldn’t be here and be alive if you weren’t considering on helping Alex with her plan. I don’t trust her.”

“I don’t trust her either,” she said. “Did she tell you about me, about my life at all?”

There was several seconds of silence. “What’s it like being married to her?”

“It’s dream come to life,” Emma said. “Being able to wake up next to her each morning, kiss her before I go to work, even getting mundane text messages from her reminding me to pick up something from the store, it’s all magical to me. There are days I wonder how I got to be so lucky to have in her my life.”

“I only got that one chance to be with her and then I fucked it up,” other Emma said. “She died hating me. I can still see her dead body lying there every time I close my eyes.”

“I don’t think she hated you,” Emma said. “Sometimes I wonder if she and I ever really hated each other. Things started off rough between us for sure, but there was always this pull between us, like magnets that can’t help but connect to each other. Did it feel like that way for you?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “It was always Regina.”

They didn’t say anything for a long while, both women alone with her thoughts. Emma looked at the dagger that was still in her hand. She hadn’t actually looked at it much since the first time she held it and saw her name etched in the side. She could still remember what it felt like when the Dark One’s curse was absorbed into her body. It had felt unnatural, almost alien to her and still did if she allowed herself to think about. For the most part though she had tried to ignore it – thankfully her mind had been so occupied that she had managed to do that for most of the time. Not now though. Now it was ever present in her mind.

She hadn’t even considered the thought that if she returned to her own time, it would return with her. Before, she thought she was fixing the past so it would never come to be that she became the Dark One. Knowing now that it wasn’t even her past that she was interfering with, she knew unless she did transfer the Dark One’s curse to her counterpart, she would indeed be stuck with it.

It would be a difficult thing to explain to her wife. Of course, if Alex erased her memories of all of this, would she even know she was the Dark One? Just thinking about it made her head hurt.

She had been so sure she was doing the right thing – that she was going to fix her past to save her future that it never once occurred to her question all of it. Even when she killed Rumplestilskin she had never questioned she was in the right.

She had tried to convince herself that she hadn’t actually killed him, after all he had actually asked her to do it. He had wanted to change this time line as much as she did. He had wanted Belle to be alive once more and she had convinced him that it was possible that this had all gone wrong in the past and she could fix it. She had been angry at him though – angry that he had conspired with Hook to kill Regina and while he regretted Belle’s death he didn’t regret Regina’s.

They had argued about it, about him making this thing by killing Regina. He told her how he had given the fake dagger to Belle to convince her that he was done with being the Dark One, all the while planning on how to get Regina’s soul to make his living magic. She had the dagger in her hand and he had rushed her and she felt the dagger go into his flesh. He pulled back off of it, staring at her and laughing that laugh of his. He fell to the ground still laughing and the moment he passed away her name appeared on the dagger.

She had lied to her past self about making the deal with Rumple. No, when she went back to the past she did so in hopes that by telling him of Belle’s death and lying to him that his future self sent some message to him that perhaps he would change his ways, that he would no longer target Regina for this thing.

Yet even in that past time he had Hook following Regina. Why would he have him doing that if he wasn’t planning on the same thing in that time line?

“I’ll do it,” the other Emma said from the other side of the door, interrupting her thoughts. “If she can transfer the Dark One’s curse to me, I will go back and find out what is happening with Regina. But I’m not doing this for Alex.”

“I didn’t figure you would do it for Alex,” Emma said. “Has she talked to you at all about her plans?”

“Yeah, I think she gets lonely so she comes down here to talk to me. Can’t understand half of what she says sometimes because she is always talking about some books she read and some philosophy she learned,” she said. “The thing is, she is still kind of like the little girl I met.”

“I got that feeling too like she is adult in form only.”

“I don’t think she quite understands the concept that she isn’t always going to get what she wants.”

“What she wants is Regina,” future Emma said. “Do you think she really just wants to speak with her?”

The other Emma laughed. “Do you?”

“No,” she said. “And I still don’t get why if she can know something is wrong with Regina in the past, why she can’t bring Regina here to the future if that is what she wants so badly. Why all of this?”

“I don’t know, but I will be damned if I let her lay a hand on Regina no matter what time line it is in.”

“Me too,” Emma said, thinking of her wife back at home. “Me too.”


	44. Chapter 44

**In the present**

Emma reluctantly went home later that evening, thanking Snow for watching Henry and then sat him down to tell him that Regina was missing. Of course, he immediately wanted to help find her. Right now the investigation had stalled. They found the Mustang parked at the hospital of all places, which set off another search of the place that turned up nothing.

They had found traces of blood in the back seat which they assumed was Regina’s, but there was no sign of where she could be. Her father had finally been the one to convince her to go home and tell Henry. Before doing so she told the dispatchers that if any call came in that they thought might be even remotely connected to Regina they were to call her.

After she got Henry to go to bed she found she was full of restless energy. Regina was out there somewhere and she needed to find her. Not knowing what to do next was killing her. Short of a door-to-door search she didn’t know what to do. She already had her deputies out searching abandoned or vacant buildings for any trace of her.

Emma even went as far as to call Robin and explain the situation to him. He had wanted to come help her look, but she asked him to concentrate searching the woods for any sign of them. He told her he would organize his men and start at first light. Searching in the dark would be pointless as they could destroy any traces of passage without knowing it.

She had to believe Sidney wouldn’t harm her anymore than he had already. She didn’t like Sidney but she always got the feeling he was a little love struck with Regina and she hoped she was right in thinking he wouldn’t really harm her. The fact he sought out medical attention for her seemed to reinforce that.

Needing something to do, she sat down with her laptop, putting the flash drive in it. She called up the next video.

 

“I saw Alex again today. I hadn’t been expecting it, but I went over to my mom’s and there she was. Apparently Gold still isn’t up to caring for this kid so it’s turned into a babysitting by committee job,” Emma said, taking a drink of a beer. “Of course it may not be his kid so what does he care.”

She took yet another drink and stared off to the side of the screen for at least a minute.

“I walked in, thinking maybe I could talk to my own mother and convince her I wasn’t crazy. I wasn’t thinking she would be there, but there she was sitting on the floor playing with some toys like she was a normal kid. I could almost imagine she was a normal kid, but then I thought of Belle. The kid didn’t even look at me when I came in and I almost walked right back out. Mom convinced me to sit down and went to get me a cup of coffee. I felt eyes on me and sure enough when I looked over there was Alex staring at me, just staring. She wasn’t doing anything else, not playing with her toys anymore, just looking at me. I almost fled and probably would have if my mom hadn’t come back and put the coffee down in front of me. I glanced from it back to the kid who was again playing with her toys like she wasn’t just giving me some sort of Satan stare down.”

“Needless to say I didn’t stick around much longer, making some excuse to get out of there. As soon as I was out the door I heard the girl start to cry.”

Another pause, another drink.

“I know how this sounds, don’t think that I don’t, but I’m telling you that kid wants something from me. I thought about it, about how when I held her I felt this urge to take her and go. I don’t think that urge came from me, I think it came from her,” Emma said. “I needed to talk to someone, someone who would have some answers for me so I went to see Gold, but he wouldn’t let me in. I will try again later. Someone is going to answer for what happened to you. Someone is going to answer for the existence of that … that thing.”

 

Emma sat back, giving some time to think about what was said in the video. Looking at herself that way, she could see glimpses of who she was but at the same time a lot of it was like seeing a stranger. She knew she shouldn’t judge because this Emma had clearly been through a lot, but there was something about her that made her feel like this Emma was weaker somehow.

She went to start the next video – there were only a few left, but she noticed there was no time stamp on this one or the other remaining ones. She opened up the file information and did everything else she could think of to figure out when they were filmed but she was coming up blank. Could that Emma have found a way to erase that data? She knew she personally wasn’t smart enough to do such a thing, but she had no way of knowing if her counterpart did.

And it wasn’t like she could show these videos to anyone and ask for help in determining when they were filmed.

She started the video.

The background was not something Emma recognized and she paused it to take in every detail she could. Her counterpart looked strung out, her eyes had black circles under them, she seemed thinner and had a look like the world had finally beat her down. Emma wondered if these videos were filmed in the apartment she ended up living in after leaving Storybrooke.

She unpaused the video.

“I talked to my parents today,” Emma said. “They say things in Storybrooke have settled down, gotten back to normal. They want me to come back. I didn’t really respond. They know the score – I can’t come back. I asked them about Alex, but she hasn’t been seen much. She apparently stays in the library full time now. Everyone is still afraid of her. Why wouldn’t they be? They saw their precious Savior turn tail and run from her. Apparently some people in town think she is Regina. They think Regina faked her own death or some shit like that and has come back more powerful than ever to take away everyone’s happy endings again. I would like to punch whoever started that rumor. She isn’t Regina; I don’t care what she looks like, she isn’t her.”

“I haven’t given up yet,” she continued. “I’m close in fact. I’m really close. I got some unexpected help, really unexpected. Henry called.”

She smiled at this. “He called and we didn’t talk long but he said he was clearing some stuff out of the mansion. He has no use for the place and he wanted to know if I wanted anything, anything that belonged to you. He knows the full truth about us. I told him everything, I don’t remember if I told you that before or not. Sometimes these videos they all run together in my mind and I forget what I told you and what I didn’t. Anyway, it was really good to hear his voice even if it was for a short time. I asked him if you had any spell books. I could tell the question caught him off guard, but he said yes that all your stuff was still there. I asked him to send me any of your magic books. He didn’t even ask me why, just asked me for my address and got off the phone.”

“About a week later I get a big box of books and I’ve been going through them ever since. A lot of them were in Elvish, remind me to learn that one of these days, so those were useless. Honestly I wasn’t even sure what I was even looking for – something to stop Alex once and for all, but I found something even better. A spell to move through time. I wasn’t even sure I was reading it right at first, but there it was in your handwriting. I guess after Zelena you started working on a spell to activate the portal. It looks like a complete spell as far as I can tell and I can’t help but wonder if you worked on this while you were exiled to the mansion after I took Henry from you. Were you working on this so you could go back and change things? I hope that if you were that you were going back to make me see you for the wonderfully, amazing person you are. I hope you were going back to let me have a second chance.”

“That’s what I plan to do with it. I’m going to go back and I’m going to keep myself from making the mistake of walking away from us and what we could be. I’m going to dump Hook, beg you to give me a chance if that is what it takes and most of all I’m going to protect you. I don’t care if I have to walk up to Gold and shoot him in the head to prevent him from hurting you. Nothing else matters but having you in my life again. It’s going to work, I can feel it.”

 

The video ended and Emma was convinced this Emma had lost it. The idea that she could speak so casually of killing someone put Emma on edge. I guess she knew now though how future Emma ended up traveling back in time – a spell that Regina made. Curious, she thought, since present day Regina acted like she wouldn’t know where to begin to do such a thing. Of course that alternate Regina did have a lot of time on her hands once Henry was taken away from her and she was kicked out of the mayor’s office.

She wondered if that meant Regina of this time had the potential in her to find a spell to make her go forward in time like she wanted to do in order to help the other future Emma.

“God I’m getting a headache,” she said out loud. She would be happy when all of this was over and she never had to think about time lines ever again. She was pretty sure she would punch the next person who suggested she should watch Doctor Who.

How had that Regina and that Emma gotten to that point? Not for the first time she wondered if that is how she and the Regina of this time would have ended up if future Emma hadn’t have come back. Clearly, they would have based on all of this, but still she found it somewhat hard to believe that in a few short years she could have become this woman who was making these videos.

She had to believe they had made enough changes, had enough knowledge now to keep themselves from de-evolving into this. Yet here she was not on speaking terms with Regina once more.

She had to find Regina, show her somehow that she didn’t want this future.

….

There was a slight movement and it was that movement that finally got Regina to open her eyes. She blinked several times, trying to win the battle to stay awake. Her first thought was to wonder why she was looking up at a wooden ceiling. She felt the movement again and she closed her eyes again. She felt weak and groggy but was not in a lot of pain. She remembered Sidney and what happened and a big part of her wanted to continue to lay there until she fell asleep.

Regina opened her eyes again when she felt the movement again.

Boat, she thought. I am definitely on a boat.

Not just any boat she realized, it was the Jolly Roger. She recognized it from their trip to Neverland.

Hook, she thought.

Sitting up in her bunk, she let her head stop spinning before getting up and going over to the door. She pushed against it and heard the chain that was keeping it locked on the other side.    

If Sidney thought that would keep her locked in, he had definitely been in that hole too long. She put her hand against the door and called up her magic – she felt it and then it stopped. Closing her eyes to concentrate, figuring that her tiredness was keeping her from being able to use it, she again called up the magic – but again it failed.

She tried several more times with the same result, finally pushing against the door to no avail. Frustrated she returned to the bunk and sat down. Her head was pounding as she lifted up her blood-stained shirt to see the stitched up wound underneath.

Sidney attacking her had been unexpected but the idea that she was now on the Jolly Roger was even more so. First of all, how had he gotten the ship back in this time line and secondly, why would Sidney think to bring her here.

It didn’t make any sense.

In the other timeline Hook was working with Gold.

How could Sidney be working with Hook if he had been locked up this entire time?

There had to be something else at work here, something she hadn’t thought of.

Sidney had attacked her and she couldn’t help but wonder if he had been waiting all this time on the off chance she would ever visit him. If he had the means to escape, why wait until she showed up?

Sidney had been her right hand man for years. Yes, she used him, she used him every chance she got. And she didn’t care. She never cared about him. He wasn’t the only person she had used over the years. There were so many that she had trampled on in her pursuit for revenge and she had never given those people a second thought.

She had earned the title Evil Queen.

And where had it gotten her? Here she was trapped in the belly of a ship owned by someone who in one timeline had killed her. She had been brought here by a former associate whom she had been so sure she could manipulate. She chuckled thinking of how much of an ego she had and it had finally caught up to her.

She laid there for a long time, trying not to think of all the wrong turns she had made in her life. Finally there was movement at the door and she heard the chain being removed so she got to her feet.

“You are going to pay for this,” she said as soon as Sidney appeared inside the room.

“My queen, you are hardly in a position to make threats,” he said.

She turned her back to him, moving to the back of the room where she turned again and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. “Where did you learn the magic to erect wards around this room?” she asked. “That is how you are blocking my magic right?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t take precautions? You are forgetting, I may be the one person in the world who knows exactly what you are capable of.”

“Just as I know what you are capable of. You are a genie, you don’t have the knowledge to put up wards as sophisticated as these. So who is up there with you, Mr. Gold?”

“No,” he said. “It is just me and Hook.”

“Neither of you are capable of this kind of magic,” she said. “I will ask again, what is the point of all of this?”

“You don’t get it, you don’t call the shots here,” Sidney said. “Well it’s a lesson you will learn soon enough.”

He didn’t say anything else as he left, reattaching the chain. She could have tried something, maybe even rushed him, but she decided to wait. There was something going on here – of that she was sure – but she needed more information.

She hadn’t been lying there doing nothing, she had been thinking about why her magic wasn’t working. She had considered that it was because she had been feeling weak, but soon realized it was more than that. Something was blocking her from using magic which meant there was something actively working against her.

Wards were a common practice, but in order to get them to do what you wanted them to do it required a subtle touch. Even with her knowledge it would take some work for her to set them up correctly to block magic such as hers. No, Sidney didn’t have that power which meant there was someone else on this boat.


	45. Chapter 45

**In the future**

 

“Emma.”

Future Emma opened her eyes when she heard her name being called. Yawning, she sat up from the cot she had been taking a nap on to find Alex standing nearby.

“I’m ready,” Alex said.

Emma didn’t have to ask what for. When Alex had shown her to this little cubby hole in the reference section of the library it was with the idea that she could get some rest while Alex continued to work on the problem of transferring the Dark One’s power to her counterpart. Emma was surprised she had been able to get any sleep, especially after she realized this cot was most likely where Alex slept – assuming she slept.

Emma nodded to her and followed her out to the main part of the library where Alex had been working. The other Emma was there and she was pacing. Emma couldn’t help but think of how different this Emma was from her. There was a manic energy to her, a nervousness that she was sure she had never shown. This Emma had a desperation about her and future Emma didn’t like it. She was placing a lot of faith in this version of her, faith that she would be able to do what needed to be done back in the past.

“So what do we have to do?” future Emma asked.

“Stand there facing each other,” Alex said pointing at a circle that had been drawn on the floor.

Future Emma waited until her alternate moved first and then she made her way into it.

“Take the dagger out,” Alex commanded her. “Now slice your hand open and hand the dagger to her.”

“Excuse me?”

“We don’t really have time for me to explain every step in the process,” Alex said. “I need you to slice your hand open because I need your blood and her blood in order for this to work.”

Future Emma took the dagger out and she looked down at her left hand for a moment before making a small slice along it. She hesitated before handing the dagger to her counterpart. She didn’t care for this version of her and if Regina wasn’t in trouble she wouldn’t even consider doing what she was doing. She looked at Alex – here was someone she definitely didn’t trust – but Regina was in danger and that was one thing she did believe was true.

Finally she handed over the dagger. Her counterpart didn’t pause before slicing her own hand and future Emma noticed that she kept the dagger firmly in her hand.

“Grip hands,” Alex said.

Like a handshake they gripped hands. Future Emma stared into her eyes – holding her gaze – until alternate Emma blinked and averted her eyes. Once again, Emma was struck by how different this other self was from her. When facing a person like she was now, Emma knew she would never avert her eyes. That showed weakness and doubts again crept into her mind about this woman.

Would she up to the task? Could she do this without messing things up? They had talked for a while down there – each of them on one side of the door. Alternate Emma had asked her more about what it was like be married to Regina. She had been happy to talk about it at first. Unlike her past self, this one wholeheartedly supported the idea of her being with Regina. It was also the thing that made her wary of this alternate self. The more they talked, the more she recognized the Emma that had been in those videos, the one who had become unhinged.

She had to brush aside her instincts about this woman in order to agree to this because frankly she was beginning not to trust her anymore than she trusted Alex. There was an eagerness to this Emma about talking about Regina and to her at least it seemed to border on an obsession.

When she had first watched the videos she too had been freaked out to hear herself talk about the child Alex, but other things bothered her just as much. There were some videos there that she had not copied onto the flash drive – videos where Emma had carried on conversations with Regina long after she was gone --- and those videos had been disturbing to her. At first it was just because of the idea that her wife was dead in this timeline. But now that she had met and talked with this Emma she found the woman to be off kilter just a little bit.

If this weren’t the only way to help that past Regina, Emma would have told both of these women to go to hell. But this was the only way to help that Regina so she had to try.

She wondered if this other Emma had averted her eyes because she saw her weakness reflected in her eyes. She was about to say something to her alternate self, give her some words of encouragement that she could do this, when Alex started the spell. Emma didn’t know the words as they were in a different language but a pain suddenly flared in her gut and she cried out. Soon it was driving her to her knees as it felt like it was spreading throughout her body.

Looking down, she could see the Dark One’s magic leaving her body. Her eyes followed its path upward where it was entering her counterpart’s body. Where she felt like she was being flayed, alternate Emma appeared to be experiencing no pain and there was an almost euphoric look on her face.

It was over almost as quickly as it started but Emma remained on her knees still feeling the aftermath of the pain. Alex bent over and helped her to her feet, but she felt unsteady and Alex directed her over to a chair where she gratefully sat down. Alex used her magic to heal her hand from the cut and conjured a bottle of water and gave it to her.

“Sorry,” Alex said. “I did not know it would hurt like that.”

“What does it matter? The important thing is that it worked,” Alternate Emma said.

Future Emma looked at her as she was examining the dagger which still had Emma etched on it, but she knew that it now belonged to this other version of herself. The look of euphoria was now permanently plastered to her face.

Emma’s head was pounding and she tried to stand only to be forced back down by a wave of dizziness.

“Take it easy,” Alex said.

She took a drink of the water. She looked at the table next to her and tried to get her mind to focus. It hadn’t felt like this when she had taken on the Dark One’s magic, but she had been almost overwhelmed by it leaving her body. There were more romantic books on the table and she wondered if Alex had any idea what it was really like to love another person. If she was getting her ideas from books then she was surely being misinformed.

There were several stacks of books across the table and Emma wondered if Alex was close to finishing off the entire library and what she would do when she did finish. She saw a copy of “Eat, Pray, Love” sitting there. She had never read the book but she had seen the movie with Julia Roberts. She had thought the movie was ok, although she figured the book was probably better because people were always saying books were better than their movie versions.

She turned back to see that Alex had moved away from her and closer to her counterpart where they were talking and alternate Emma was nodding her head yes. Emma didn’t like how these two were suddenly being all chummy so she got to her feet. Both women turned to look at her and Emma took a step forward.

“Get to the portal,” Alex said to the alternate. “You know what to do.”

“I’ll bring her back,” Emma said smiling at future Emma.

“Don’t forget the spell book,” Alex said.

“No,” future Emma said, as realization dawned on her. “You … you are working for her!”

“With her,” alternate Emma said. “It seemed silly to be odds when we both want the same thing – for Regina to be here.”

“Stop wasting time,” Alex said. “Get moving.”

“Stop,” future Emma said as she rushed her counterpart, only to run into an invisible barrier. She moved her hands all around and discovered the barrier surrounded her completely. She punched it in frustration.

Alternate Emma walked up to it and leaned closer. “Why shouldn’t I get a second chance with her? I love her as much as you do, but you don’t understand what it’s like to lose her. I would have done anything. I will do anything to be with her again. You don’t have to be afraid or even angry. You get to go home to your wife and your daughter. Go live your life, while I build a new one with the woman we both know we were destined to love.”

“You’re crazy,” future Emma said. “If you think for a moment that Regina will have anything to do with you, you’re crazy.”

“Oh, but don’t you see, you’ve already laid the seeds of love for me,” she said. “Regina will love me. She will come back here with me because of you.”

Future Emma took a step back as this sunk in. She had done it – she had put the idea in Regina’s mind that they could be together, that they could have a family together.

Alternate Emma backed away with one last smirk and then left the room. Alex approached next.

“Don’t worry, I mean to keep my promise. I am going to send you back to your time, back to your family,” Alex said. “It’s the least I can do for all the assistance you have given me.”

“What are you going to do to her?” She didn’t have to say Regina’s name because she finally understood this really had been about her the entire time.

“I told you, I want to know her.”

“Don’t bullshit me. Not after this. I get it, you played me, you won, so tell me what you intend to do to her,” Emma said. “I’m betting my counterpart there doesn’t have a clue does she?”

“As I said before, she is flawed, which is why having you was so important.”

“Why? Why any of this?”

Alex stepped away, studying Emma as if trying to decide what to do with her. Emma didn’t like being under this creature’s gaze but she wasn’t about to back down to her either. She refused to think of her as a human. This thing was some sort of abomination.

“Rumplestiltskin was an idiot – flawed much like your other self. What he did in order to create me, if he had any understanding of the bonds of life he wouldn’t have done it or at the very least he would have chosen a better soul to take than Regina’s. Don’t get me wrong, her soul was exactly what was needed for the spell because of her own inborn magical ability. It had the power to create this life and by all rights I should have been exactly what he thought he was creating – a powerful living magic. And if he had tried this in another timeline, such as the one you thought was your past one, he might have succeeded. But he didn’t and so here I am trapped in Storybrooke.”

“You can’t leave the town?”

“I can not. I am stuck here, only able to read these books and wonder about the world out there. The world out there; that is where I want to be. I want my freedom,” she said. “

“And you think that Regina will be able to let you do that. Why, because she created the town with her magic?”

Alex laughed and Emma wanted to punch her for it.

“No, Regina does not have the ability to use her magic to set me free.”

“She has something though or else you wouldn’t have done all of this to bring her here.”

Again, Alex smiled. “If I were all-powerful as the living magic should be, the barrier around this town would be child’s play for me. I guess you could say my making was miscalculated by Rumplestiltskin.” She walked over to the desk and Emma had to turn to keep her eye on her. Alex picked up one of the romance novels. “Funny, that he created me for a purpose tied to love, yet it was him not considering the powerful bonds that love makes that has led us to this point.”

“Stop speaking in riddles,” Emma said. “Tell me what you plan to do with Regina.”

Alex tossed the book down as if she was bored with it and the conversation.

“You were able to travel back in time as you did because your soul recognized a past self’s soul there. It’s why I was able to pull you into this one. You had to have a connection. I don’t have that because of how I was created. If I had a complete soul I would be able to, but I don’t have a complete soul, can you guess the reason why I don’t?”

“As far as I can tell you don’t have a soul at all.”

“Oh, I have one. Regina’s soul in fact. It was what gave me this life, but her soul is also at the crux of my being trapped here and unable to fill my full potential,” Alex said. She took her seat at the table, again looking at her books for a moment. “Rumplestiltskin chose you – well the other you – because not everyone could carry the living magic inside them as you did. A lesser person, it may have torn them apart. But you are the Savior, a product of True Love which gives you your magic and the protections that come with it. He chose Regina’s soul because of its magic and its potential. The problem was the pairing of the two of you in this process. If he had chosen anyone else who could have carried the child but you, then we wouldn’t be sitting here now. If he has chosen someone other than hers, we wouldn’t be sitting here now. The choosing of the two of you specifically is what keeps me at bay. I don’t have a full soul because you two women, despite all the odds, fell in love with each other. Yes, even in this timeline with all the missteps your counterpart took, she managed to get Regina to love her. That is why I needed a Regina from a timeline where the two of you weren’t together. To become whole, I need a soul from a Regina who hasn’t already given a part of her soul away to you.”

Emma understood finally. Alex was going to do to Regina what Gold had done to her this timeline. She was going to take her soul from her. Alex had set this all into motion so that Emma would make that other Regina care for her just enough that she would come to this time – deliver herself into Alex’s waiting clutches.

“I won’t let you,” Emma said hitting the barrier again.

“You are no longer a part of this,” Alex said simply as she again approached her. “In fact, it’s time I let you return to your own time. Thanks again for your assistance.”

“No!” Emma screamed as Alex waved her hand across the barrier.


	46. Chapter 46

**In the other future**

 

Emma blinked as she found she was standing not in the library but in a bedroom, her bedroom. She whirled around, taking in the sights that she knew belonged there – all the signs that showed this was the bedroom she shared with Regina. Alex had done it, she had kept her promise and sent her back to her timeline.

Emma quickly left the room, and ran down the stairs. There was no one in the main room but a noise from the kitchen had her moving in that direction. Opening the door, she was struck by what she saw.

“Mommy!” Alex yelled from her booster seat at the kitchen table. The word made the woman at the sink turn.

“Emma?” Regina said. She ran across the room, practically slamming into Emma with a hug. “Where have you been? I’ve been so worried.”

Emma allowed her body to sink into her wife’s. She buried her head against Regina’s neck, breathing in the scent of her. Her wife. This was her wife holding onto her. She wasn’t even sure when the tears started as she choked back a sob.

Regina pulled back, cupping Emma’s face in her hand. “Talk to me. Let me know you are ok.”

Emma nodded. “I’m okay,” she said, her breaths sounding heavy as her emotions felt like they had been put in a blender on puree. “I’m okay.” She pulled Regina into her once more, needing to feel her body against hers.

When she felt something tugging at her pants she looked down to see Alex there. She didn’t pause as she scooped her daughter up into her arms and held her tight against her. Her daughter, her precious Alex.

“Emma,” Regina said. “Where have you been?”

“Not now,” she managed to say. She kissed Alex on the cheek and cried even more at the sound of her laughter. She had thought she had lost this forever. She never wanted to let go of her or Regina. She shifted Alex to her one hip and pulled Regina in once more. “I’ve missed you so much.”

 

Later that night

 

Regina stood in the doorway of Alex’s bedroom watching Emma. She had put Alex to bed, having read her two stories until the girl could no longer keep her eyes open. And now Emma was staring at their daughter.

Emma had yet to tell them what had happened to her and where she had been. Even Henry had been unable to get it out of her. Snow and Charming had come over immediately after Regina called them to say Emma was home, yet all Emma would say was that she was fine and she didn’t want to talk about it yet.

This was her wife, and Regina knew her wife was not fine.

It hadn’t escaped her notice that Emma got antsy whenever any of them left the room or were away from her for any long amount of time. She had insisted they all sit and watch a movie together that evening, saying she just wanted to spend time with her family.

But there was fear in Emma’s eyes and it was not something Regina was used to seeing and she wondered if they were all in some sort of danger. Surely if they were Emma would not be so secretive about it.

So she decided to let Emma have some time to collect her thoughts. That time was over now.

“Emma,” she said softly. Emma looked up at her. “Come on, let her sleep.”

Emma hesitated and then leaned over to kiss Alex’s forehead and then reluctantly left the room. As soon as she closed the door, she took Regina’s hand in hers and led her to their bedroom. Once they were securely behind the closed door, Emma brought Regina in closer and kissed her gently.

She felt Emma’s hand move from her hip up to her side, pulling up her shirt with it so their flesh was touching. Although she wanted to continue, wanted to feel Emma’s touch, she pulled away. “Emma,” she said again. “What is going on? Where have you been?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Emma said. “I just want to be here with my wife, to make love to my wife, is that too much to ask?”

“I want that too, but you need to tell me what happened? I’ve been worried sick ever since you disappeared. We looked everywhere. I used my magic and it failed, it failed to find you. I failed.”

“No,” Emma said, reaching out and taking her hand again. “You didn’t fail. This … none of this is your fault. I got caught up in something and …”

Emma looked away from her, but Regina took her other hand alongside Emma’s face, turning her toward her and planting a kiss on her lips. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. Are we in some sort of danger?”

“Why would you think that?”

“You’ve barely let me or the kids out of your sight all day,” Regina said. “like you’re afraid something is going to happen to us.”

“Something did happen to you. I lost you.”

“You didn’t lose me,” Regina said not understanding. “I’m right here. Please Emma, I can tell something is weighing on your mind. Just tell me.”

Emma let go of her hand and moved around to her side of the bed and sat on the edge of it. Regina waited a moment and then went and sat beside her.

“I messed up,” Emma said quietly. “I messed up real bad.”

Regina took her hand this time. “Do you remember when we were dating, it had been maybe six months into it, and you asked me why I had given you such a hard time about going out with you in the first place? You thought it had to do with Robin, and I said no, that it had to do with you. I told you then that I was afraid of you, afraid of these feelings I had about you because I feared that one day you would leave and I would be left behind. I knew your past, and even though you had settled down here I couldn’t get it out of my mind that you would take off one day – not leaving Storybrooke per se but leaving me. I had gone through the loss of love once with Daniel and I wasn’t sure I could go through that again,” she said. “That night when I told you all of that we were sitting in that yellow monstrosity of yours and you took my hand and you looked me in the eye and said, ‘I promise, you never have to worry that I will leave you because I love you and you’re stuck with me and whatever happens tomorrow or 30 years from now, we’re going to face it together.’ Well now it’s my turn to say that to you, whatever it is that happened to you, we’re going to face it together.”

Emma squeezed her hand a little tighter and then began to speak.

Regina tried not to interrupt much as Emma told her of waking in the other timeline, believing it was her timeline and then her subsequent trip to the past to try and get her younger self to fix it. In typical Emma fashion, there was a lot of pacing, hand gestures and emotion as the story poured out of her.

When she heard about the way she had died in that other timeline – the shooting – she had stopped Emma if only to hold on to her for a moment, more upset that Emma had to deal with thinking that had really been her than her own feelings about it. She asked the most questions when it came to this Alex and Emma told her what she could, but Regina still wondered at this thing Gold had created.

“I don’t know why she sent me back here,” Emma said. “I don’t know why she didn’t just kill me or why she sent me back with my memories of it in tact.”

Something had been bothering Regina about the way Emma had told the story, especially at the end, but she knew her wife well enough to make an educated guess at what was really bothering her about this – about why she didn’t want to talk about it.

“She sent you back because you fulfilled your purpose and she had no use for you anymore,” Regina said. “She sent you back because you can no longer do anything about what she had planned.”

When Emma looked at her – the desperation clear in her eyes – Regina knew she had guessed correctly.

“But you want to try and do something, don’t you?” Regina asked.

“I can’t just let her be led into a trap like that,” Emma said. “It’s my fault if she goes forward in time to where Alex is. It’s my fault that the other Emma has the power of the Dark One to go back and find her. Whether it’s Alex or that other me, she’s in danger. I can’t sit here and know the things I know without doing something. But I can’t do anything.”

Regina sighed. “That settles it then,” she said standing up. “I said before, we’re going to face it together, so it’s up to me to find a way for us – the two of us – to travel to that other timeline and stop this Alex and save that other me.”

“No,” Emma said. “I won’t put your life in danger. Besides, Alex just had to go through one of her moms being gone, she shouldn’t have to have both of them disappear on her.”

“I’m not letting you go back there by yourself,” Regina said. “Alex will be fine. Your mother will watch her while we’re gone. I don’t plan on us being gone very long and as it is I need to figure a way there and unfortunately for this to work we have to wait until past me is there too.”

“Why? I was thinking I would travel to the past and stop my counterpart there and not have to bother with that other time line at all.”

“We need to wait because my past self has to be there in that alternate time line for me to travel there. Clearly, from what Alex said having a soul there to connect to is key to all of this. Would it be simpler to travel to the past, yes it would be, but that won’t stop Alex. She will find another way, even if it means manipulating another version of you and targeting another version of me. No, we have to go there and take the battle to her.”

“So, we’re really going to do this?”

“Yes, we’re going to do this and we’re going to do it together,” Regina said. “Besides, I want to have a word with my past self about keeping her lips off of other people’s wives.”

“In her defense, she thought I was her future wife.”

“Not helping matters,” Regina said. “Don’t think you and I aren’t going to talk about you kissing her first.”


	47. Chapter 47

In the Present

 

Emma had spent another unsuccessful day hunting for Regina. She was still at the office when she noticed that it was nearly 11 p.m. It was a good thing her parents had Henry, she thought. He had wanted to help with the search and she let him help a little. She allowed him stay at the office and when each of the deputies called in from a searching a different area of town Henry would record it so they knew what areas had been searched.

She had her employees going door to door to see if anyone had seen or heard anything that would indicate where Regina was but they had come up with nothing so far.

Sitting back in her chair, she moved her neck to the left and then the right to stretch it out.

She was tired, but every time she took a break she would feel guilty about it. She felt like she was letting Regina down, letting Henry down and to her surprise she felt like she was letting down her future self.

Like Regina had worried about future Emma, in the present, Emma now worried about what the future was like. Had Regina’s kidnapping by Sidney changed anything? Was the future still an awful place because Regina was no longer in it?

Her mind drifted to the visions future Emma had given her of that other life. With all that had happened since she hadn’t truly taken any time to think of them, but now that she did she found some of those images could still be recalled easily in her mind. She saw her and Regina walking hand and hand toward Granny’s and Regina had a huge smile on her face unlike any that Emma had ever seen before.

If that is what happiness looked like on Regina, Emma had to admit it suited her. She wondered if that particular vision was one from an early date or had they been dating for a while already.

Closing her eyes, she saw her and Regina dancing after their wedding. Emma held on to her tightly, not wanting anyone else to get the chance to dance with her. Finally, she gave up the spot to Henry who danced with his mom while Emma watched them.

When she opened her eyes she felt a deepening sadness.

If she had listened to her future self maybe there would have been a chance to save that future, but now too much had happened.

Her body shivered from a cold chill brought on by the dark thought that had flittered through her mind – that time was running out.

Realizing she hadn’t eaten yet and needing an excuse to do anything but sit there, Emma decided to go home and force herself to eat something and then try and sleep so she could get up early in the morning to search some more.

Going out to her car she got in and started it up.

“It’s about time you leave the damn office.”

Startled she turned and saw herself pulling herself up and sitting in the back seat. This other version of her leaned forward and put an elbow on the front passenger seat.

“Well come on, let’s get this car moving,” she said.

“How did you get back here?” Emma said, realizing this was future her although she hesitated because although this woman looked a little older than her, she also looked differently than future Emma. She wondered if the strung out look was some side effect of time travel.

“That’s not important,” this other Emma said. “What’s important is getting to Regina.”

“You know where she is at?” Emma said with obvious joy in her voice. She even laughed. “Of course you know where she’s at, you’re from the future so you know about all of this right?”

“I know Sidney took her from the hospital,” she replied. “Head to the docks.”

“The docks? My men were all over that place today searching the abandoned buildings, the warehouses and even the ships. They didn’t find anything.”

“No, they wouldn’t. We are going there to commandeer a ship. We need to get out to sea, that is where Regina is being held – on the Jolly Roger. Sidney and Hook have her on the ship and we need to get there before anything happens to her.”

Emma looked at her counterpart and considered her a moment. She definitely looked different than when she last saw her, but she also saw a hardness in her, a determination – a determination to get to Regina.

“I should call for back up,” Emma said.

“No,” the other Emma said. “Just you and me. I won’t be left behind and it won’t do for others to know I am here.

Emma knew what she said made sense, but she still hesitated. There was something off about this her instinct told her. She shook if off though. When future Emma had first came there Emma hadn’t wanted to listen or to trust her and it had led to this, to Regina being in danger. She wasn’t willing to risk Regina over her own insecurities. Putting the car in gear she headed toward the docks.

…

Regina still felt a little woozy but she was overall feeling better. She wasn’t sure how long she had been locked away in this ship. She had managed to get some more sleep in order to rest up for whatever lay ahead of her. The ship was moving only slightly at times so she guessed they were anchored somewhere and not actually traveling.

Sidney had came in once more to bring her a plate of food but so far there was no sign of Hook or of whoever put the wards up that were blocking her magic.

She had reviewed in her mind all she knew about wards. They usually involved a series of symbols which had to be precisely drawn and in a specific order for them to be successful. She had used them only sparingly in her life because while they were powerful, they took a lot of time to set up and frankly Regina never had much patience for them.

Wards could be used for more than simply blocking magic. They could be used as a communication tool, used to track a person or object and a myriad of other things that those experienced in their uses could even come up with new ones if they were that skilled. The other thing about wards was that a person didn’t have to have magic to use them. Conceivably anyone with the skill to make the wards correctly could get benefit from them. That meant whoever was helping Sidney didn’t need to be a magic user. She had already discounted that it was the pirate – that man may be a more than capable sailor but Regina didn’t see much other use for him. What Emma ever saw in him she would never know.

She had thought a lot about Emma since she had been in here. She was sure Emma was taking care of Henry, just as she was sure Emma was looking for her. But if she was on the Jolly Roger it meant that they could have sailed out to see or as they had done before with the right magic the ship could move between worlds. She knew even that wouldn’t stop Emma. The Savior had a bit of a hero complex in her and couldn’t seem to actually keep from running into dangerous situations.

That didn’t mean Regina was going to wait around to be rescued. No, she wasn’t some damsel in distress that had a need of such things. She had gotten on the floor earlier, lying against it near the door so she could peer underneath it. As she suspected the wards had been drawn as a barrier but to create such a barrier multiple symbols were needed and those would need to stretch around to make a containment. In this case they were drawn across the floor, most likely up the sides of the door and above it. She could just make out some of the symbols when she looked under the door.

The other reason she never particularly liked wards was because she felt they were too easy to get around. One merely had to destroy even part of a symbol and the magic would fail.

The question was how to destroy a symbol written on a floor on the other side of a door you couldn’t open. The answer was that there was no way for her to do it, which means she needed to get either Sidney or Hook to do it for her. At least get them to do so accidentally. She couldn’t tell what they were drawn with – it could be paint or a marker or any number of things. Not knowing that it also made it harder for her to think of how to get one of the markers destroyed.

She had also considered that she may have to escape another way – take on Sidney when he returned and opened the door.

Being locked in there had given her plenty of time to think and the more she thought about how all of this had played out, the more she was convinced that she was missing something – something major. There was a purpose behind this, a design and if she could just bring the right pieces together she was sure understanding would come quickly. That is why she figured Gold was involved with all of this. Not just because of what had happened to her in the future, but because she knew him. She had been used by him to cast the curse that brought them here so he could find his son. He had planned it out and manipulated all the pieces into place to get what he wanted.

Now he was doing it again, but this time she wasn’t blinded by her quest for revenge. This time she wasn’t going to be used like some puppet.

Getting to her feet she began to pace, thinking through all of this.

She was killed so her soul could be used to create living magic. If Gold wanted to create living magic he had to have a purpose for it. But Gold, by all accounts was happily married to Belle now, so why do this? Why go behind Belle’s back and try anything? Surely he would have to know that he was risking his happiness with her.

Which meant whatever he wanted had to be important enough for him to take such a risk. Could it be as simple as wanting more power?

She wished for a moment that she was home and could use the dry erase board like she and Emma had done in order to map this out. Thinking of that board and the three timelines they had drawn on it, she could picture it in her mind. She mentally reviewed each line and the points of interest on each one.

There was something there, she was sure of it. She was just missing something.

Frustrated by her inability to figure it out, she hit the door with the palm of her hand. Backing away from it, she tried to calm down. She wouldn’t be able to think clearly if she gave into her anger. It was a hard lesson to learn and one she hadn’t quite mastered.

So many decisions she had made out anger, bad decisions made in the heat of the moment.

She wasn’t the type of person who practiced restraint very well, although it hadn’t always been that way. Sometimes it felt like another lifetime when she was simply happy and content to be with Daniel. Her life could have been so much different if he had lived.

The memories of him came into her mind and she sat down on the bunk and let herself remember. Too many times she had blocked out the thoughts of his touch, his gentleness, his warm eyes and the smile he could evoke from her. Those memories had brought her such sadness over the long years that she had never quite found a way to simply look at them with fondness. Always the grief and rage would overtake her.

Not this time, she told herself. Yes, there would always be grief but she wouldn’t give into her baser instincts. She wouldn’t let it consume her.

She had loved him.

But was he the love of her life?

al’Hadinn had put that doubt into her heart. Odd, she thought, of all the people in the world it was him who had been able to make the Evil Queen show restraint.

That spell book had given her momentary hope that there was a way to bring Daniel back. If she had not had that encounter with al’Hadinn there was no doubt in her mind that she would have cast the spell to resurrect Daniel. She would have risked anything for the chance that he could hold her in his arms once more.

“That’s it,” she said as realization dawned on her. Standing up, she went to the door again, yanking on it. When that didn’t work, she began to pound on it. “Sidney,” she yelled. “Sidney, I know you can hear me. Open up this door. Sidney.”

She kept hitting the door and yelling his name. She didn’t care what she had to do; she was going to get out of here.

Now that she sure she understood the purpose behind the living magic she needed to find a way to stop Gold from taking this path.

…..

Emma wasn’t much of a sailor, so she let her future self take the lead with the motorboat they had borrowed. It also gave her time to observe her other self more. There was definitely a tension about her that was not there before. She had caught a glimpse of the Dark One’s dagger and she almost asked her to tell her how she became the Dark One.

But she didn’t. She kept quiet and let her future self call the shots. She had the knowledge of where to go and for once Emma wasn’t going to question her. All that mattered was getting to Regina – and that was something they could both agree on.

She still found it a little hard to believe Killian would get involved in this. Yes, she knew the Jolly Roger meant the world to him, but she really had believed he had changed. She thought he was someone who was capable of moving on from his past and being a better person. Maybe she just saw what she wanted to see. Maybe, she let her loneliness overtake her normal skepticism.

If Killian did indeed have the Jolly Roger back and have Regina aboard it, he would be brought to justice despite their past.

She didn’t see where Sidney fit with all of this though. How would he know to go to Killian unless they were working together before all of this? And again, was Sidney merely lying in wait to attack someone at some point to escape or had he been waiting for the day Regina would show up? There were too many unanswered questions.

She thought about how her future self had told her to watch the videos and that there were answers there, and while there were some answers, those videos also brought up a whole other host of questions.

“So when you disappeared from here and went back to the future, had anything changed?” Emma asked. Her counterpart had been silent for the most part beyond giving her some instructions on what kind of boat to get.

“Regina is still dead,” the other Emma said and present Emma could feel the weight of those words. There was also a tinge of anger and perhaps bitterness in the statement. While future Emma hadn’t said anything to her, Emma figured that any blame for Regina being dead was being directed at her.

Still there was something about this other Emma that was bothering her. There was definitely an edge to her that wasn’t there before. For all their back and forth from before, at least she could still see some of herself in that future Emma – a bit of humor and a spark. But this Emma looked like she had seen hard times, which didn’t make any sense as she had not been gone that long.

If the future was that bad though maybe that would explain it.

She hated that she was still finding it hard to trust her counterpart.

“We’re not going to let that happen,” Emma responded. “Regina and I agree we can’t let that future come to pass.”

The older Emma ignored her.

After more silence passed between them, future Emma pointed. “There”

Emma looked and in the distance she saw the Jolly Roger sitting there. They really hadn’t traveled too far and she looked behind her to see that the coastline was still in view, albeit very tiny from her perspective. Why didn’t Killian take the ship our farther, she wondered.

When she heard the engine cut out she turned her attention back to the boat.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“We can’t very well go blazing up there in this motorboat. They will see and hear us if we get much closer and who knows what they will do to Regina.”

It made sense, but this was also why Emma thought they needed backup.

“How do we get on the boat if we can’t get close?”

The other Emma expression was one that reminded Emma of Regina suddenly. “With magic,” she answered.

…

“Back up,” came Sidney’s voice on the other side of the door.

Regina did and Sidney opened the door and stood just inside of it.

“What’s the matter your majesty, are your quarters not up to your standards?”

“Sidney, whatever deal you have made with Gold you need to rescind it. Do you have any idea what it is that you are helping him do?”

“I am not helping him,” he said in such a simple way that Regina narrowed her eyes at him, trying to determine if he was lying or in some way joking with her.

“What’s going on here?” she demanded.

“You will find out soon enough your majesty.”

“Stop calling me that.”

He laughed at her. “Why should I? You were the one who embraced being queen,” he said. “You say you didn’t want to be queen; that you had no desire for the crown, yet everything you did showed that you wanted it. You relished that power your majesty and you weren’t going to let anyone take it from you once it was yours. Not even the king.”

Coming toward her, a smile on his face, he continued his verbal onslaught. “You used me. You used me to take care of the king so you didn’t have to get your hands dirty. You used your guards, your huntsman, everyone you ever came in contact with you have used to get what you want. You don’t even have any shame about it. But now your majesty, you are going to get to experience what it is like to be on the other end of it. This time you will be the one who is used. And there is nothing you will be able to do about it.”

He got right up to her, staring her down – something he would never have done before and she backed up a half step. Her movement spurred him on.

“I have waited a long time your majesty to see you be brought down to your knees,” he said. “The fact I once found you to be the moon and the stars in the sky disgusts me. You are nothing but …”

She slammed her fist into his face, immediately regretting the decision as she felt like her hand was on fire. The hit had stunned Sidney, but it wasn’t enough to knock him unconscious or even back him up more than a step and a half. Still she took the opportunity to run past him. She was almost to the door when he grabbed her from behind. Still she managed to grab a hold of the door frame to keep from being pulled all the way back.

It didn’t last though as he used his leverage to force her to release her grip and he unceremoniously dumped her on the floor. Moving quickly away she got to her feet again. He hadn’t taken the time to move beyond the door; instead he stood there facing her once more.

“Life isn’t so easy when you can’t wave your hand and make things go your way, is it your majesty.”

Her blood was raging at this point. Between the “your majesty” remarks and her inability to escape without the use of her magic her frustration had built to a crescendo.

“You want to see me suffer, fine, bring it on,” she said. “But whatever this is, whatever the plan is for me, don’t let it involve the spells in that book. You were right; I should have listened to you all those years ago about that thing. It can bring only misery. And you may not care if that misery is inflicted on me, because maybe I do deserve it, but this world does not deserve to have unstoppable magic unleashed upon it.”

He gave her a quizzical look – one she noticed.

“Wait, you have no idea what I am talking about, do you?” she said taking a step toward him. “Sidney, what’s this all about?”

“Like I said your majesty, you will find out soon enough.”

This time he did back up past the threshold and she rushed him, but not in time as he slammed the door shut.

“Sidney!” she yelled over and over again as she pounded the door, which did nothing but make her already aching hand worse. As her anger finally ebbed she collapsed to her knees in front of the door.

She was stuck in here and while she believed she had figured out what Gold wanted with the living magic, she now had the scary thought that maybe Sidney was telling the truth – maybe Gold had nothing to do with this.

And if he didn’t, what did that mean for her.

“Emma,” she said softly. “You have to find me.”


	48. Chapter 48

In the future

 

Regina watched as her wife played with their daughter on the floor of the living room. As she heard Alex laugh as her mother tickled her, Regina couldn’t help but smile. It felt so good to see Emma there with their daughter almost like nothing had happened.

But it had happened.

 

She remembered waking up that morning to an empty bed.

At first she hadn’t thought anything was wrong. While she usually woke before Emma, it wasn’t unheard of for Emma to be up first. Sometimes Emma got called out in the middle of the night or the early morning hours but usually when that happened the call either woke Regina or Emma woke her wife to tell her where she was going.

Having to attend to Alex, Regina got up out of bed and went to her daughter’s room where the toddler was already awake. Picking her up, she went downstairs to begin breakfast, trusting that Henry would get up on his own.  
By the time Alex was finished eating, Henry was yawning and shuffling into the kitchen. There were days she had trouble believing this tall young man was once her little boy. He stopped by to tickle Alex on her side before heading to the freezer to grab a couple of waffles to throw in the toaster.

“Where’s mom?” he asked after the toaster was on. She had gotten up to heat up some syrup for him.

“I assume she got called out,” she answered.

“Oh,” he said yawning again.

It wasn’t until a little later that they learned that wasn’t the case. Henry had gotten ready to leave and after saying goodbye to her and Alex, he popped back in a minute later. “Hey, mom’s car is still out there,” he said.

“It is?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Huh,” Regina said. “I suppose one of the other deputies or your grandfather could have picked her up.” Even as she said it, she got a bad feeling. Getting her phone, she dialed Emma’s number but it immediately went to voicemail like it had been shut off. She sent a text message, but didn’t wait long for the response that never came.

Calling Charming, she soon discovered there had been no call out and by the end of that first day when Regina had put Alex to bed, she already began to fear the worse. She had tried her magic several times in an effort to locate Emma, but each time her magic failed to tell her where she was at.

No one had seen Emma. Regina was in fact the last person to have seen her that night when they had gone to bed.

 

“Hey you,” Emma said, knocking Regina from her thoughts. “Why the serious face?”

Regina gave her a small smile. “It’s nothing, I was just thinking about something.”

“Something unpleasant?”

“No,” Regina responded, not wanting to bring Emma down. Ever since she returned two days ago she had sensed this dark cloud ever present with her wife. It was why she was taking such joy just watching Emma and Alex play together.

“You are forgetting, I know when you are lying,” Emma said. She came over and sat on the couch next to Regina as Alex continued to play with her toys on the floor. “What is it?”

Sighing, Regina looked at her. “I was just thinking of that morning … the morning you disappeared. I was thinking of that day, just all of it.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“It’s not your fault,” Regina said quickly. She prayed Emma would believe that, but right now she knew Emma did blame herself for all of it. It was why Regina was so willing to go forward with the plan to get them to the other timeline. She knew that if they didn’t try to do something, it would eat Emma up to live with the knowledge of what happened to that other Regina.

“Any luck,” Emma asked, nodding at the book Regina had in her hand. She had been reviewing some old magic books to discover a way to get them to travel to that alternate universe. She had made Emma describe in great detail exactly what she had done to travel back in time when she had the power of the Dark One and describe everything else she could possibly remember.

“I have a few ideas, but I think I need to speak to Gold.”

“We talked about this.”

“No we didn’t,” Regina said. “When I brought it up last night you simply told me no.”

“Yeah because this is all his fault in the first place.”

“No it isn’t,” she said. “At least it wasn’t the fault of this Gold. Emma, outside of me, he is the only one in this town who knows advanced magic. And this is our time, not that other place. Gold never tried to have me killed in this timeline.”

“Really, because I seem to recall this wraith.”

“You know what I mean. You may not think I do, but I get that you were immersed in that timeline,” Regina said. “I may even get why you kissed and flirted with my younger counterpart but now you are home, you are where you belong and if we are going to have a chance at this you need to let me talk to Gold.”

Emma averted her eyes, her gaze moving back to Alex. When Emma had told her of that other time and this other Alex, Regina had been a little worried that it would make Emma see their Alex differently. But there had been no hesitation on Emma’s part to be the loving mother she had always been. If anything, Emma appeared to be even more watchful of the little girl than she typically was.

When Alex had been born Emma’s paranoia over the various things that could happen to a child seemed to know no bounds. Regina wasn’t sure Emma had slept that first week as she seemed to be constantly checking on Alex. Since she had been back Regina noticed a little of that paranoia had crept back in.

As she looked at Alex now, Regina saw a more thoughtful expression on Emma’s face, which is why she was surprised when Emma turned her attention back to her and asked, “This spell book, the one with the skin cover or whatever, do you still have it here in this timeline?”

She nodded.

“If this thing is so mojo bad why didn’t you get rid of it or at least tell me about it?” Emma asked.

“I think you sometimes forget that I was the Evil Queen,” Regina said.

“Evil Queen was past you,” Emma said. “The woman I married isn’t her. You could have told me. It’s not like I didn’t know about your past.”

Regina took a hold of her wife’s hand. “That book. It’s one of my biggest regrets. I should never have sent those men after it. And when they returned with it – those poor souls that returned with it, they would rather be dead than have anything to do with it yet I still pushed, I still kept searching for answers as to whether it could do what I hoped.”

“Daniel.”

She nodded. “I loved him.”

“I know you did,” Emma said. “Even after you learned about what the spell did to al’Hadinn’s wife, did you ever really consider doing it though?”

“I um … I actually came close. I had everything I needed to do the spell and had even started doing it.”

“What stopped you?”

“Your mother. I ended up deciding that I wanted my revenge first. I let revenge become more important to me than love.”

“Why didn’t you at least destroy the book?”

“I don’t know that I could,” she said. “There is something inherently evil about that book, a darkness that seems to seep from it. No good can come from it. It seemed the best course of action was to keep it hidden.”

Emma remembered when she had watched the videos and that other Regina had told the story about the book. She remembered feeling sorrow for that Regina and what she had gone through that she was willing to go through such lengths to bring back her lost love. She had decided a long time ago that she wasn’t going to be jealous of the memory of Daniel, which is why it had meant so much to her when Regina had given her Daniel’s ring. She saw it as Regina’s acknowledgement that she wasn’t going to live in the past and that while she would always hold on to Daniel’s love, her love now belonged with Emma.

Explaining to Regina that she had given that ring over to the other Regina in the past had not been easy. She felt bad now that she knew that timeline had nothing to do with their time.

She sighed. “If you really think that Gold can help then let’s go talk to him, the two of us together. I don’t trust him enough for you to be alone with him.”

Regina gave her a kiss. “We’re going to find a way to fix this, not just for us, but for our counterparts in that other timeline.”

“I hope so,” Emma said, although she didn’t sound very positive about it.

“What?”

“It’s nothing,” Emma shrugged. “I just keep thinking about something that other Alex said, that in that other timeline, you, well your other self, was destined to end up alone. In that timeline there is no you and I. I guess I know now why that Emma didn’t seem to be into Regina. I feel kind of bad now for trying to push her into a relationship with Regina. Not to mention I messed things up between her and Killian.”

“Yeah, well, forgive me if I don’t feel bad about it,” Regina said. “I would rather not think of a world where you end up with the searat. Not to mention, I have to question that Emma’s taste if she doesn’t see how fabulous I am.”

Smiling, Emma kissed her this time. “Don’t worry, I will always respect your fabulousness.”


	49. Chapter 49

In the present

 

Emma had to grab the rail as she and her other self appeared on the deck of the Jolly Roger. When that Emma had said they were going to get on the boat by magic, she had been surprised because it was not magic that she knew. Of course, this Emma apparently knew magic better. She swore if things ever got to normal she would try and learn more magic so she wasn’t totally inept.

They were on the back end of the boat – she was sure there was an actual name for it and she was sure Killian had reviewed such information with her, but she still had no idea what it was called.

Ever since she found out Killian had Regina out here on his ship, Emma had wondered how he had gotten it back in this time. She understood that in the alternate future timeline he had gotten it back because of Gold’s help – a deal that involved Killian being responsible for Regina’s death.

It made her all the more worried about Regina’s fate.

The other Emma was crouched low and she followed suit. As she did, she noticed that Emma was clutching the Dark One’s dagger in her hand. Again, she had to shake off the feeling that she couldn’t trust this version of herself.

They were hidden behind some large crates and Emma peeked over them and saw Killian there by the wheel – although she again wondered if she had been told an actual nautical name for it. There didn’t appear to be anyone else on deck but Killian. She moved back down and her counterpart took her own quick look.

“Looks like he is alone,” the other Emma said. “Regina is probably below. You take care of Hook, I will make my way down below deck and find her.”

That Emma began to move and present Emma stopped her. “We don’t know if there are others down there. Why don’t we both secure Killian first and then we will go hunting for Regina.”

They both had their service guns with them, but Emma kept her holstered as did the other Emma – presumably because she had the dagger.

“Fine,” the other Emma said jerking away her arm from where Emma had grabbed it. “Since he is your boyfriend, how would you suggest we handle him?”

Emma was about to argue the boyfriend part, but figured now was not the time to get into an argument with herself. “Let’s just try the direct approach. He doesn’t appear to be armed besides the sword he carries. Besides, seeing the two of us will definitely give us the advantage.”

The other Emma nodded her agreement with the plan and both women stood at the same time and began making their way toward Hook, spreading out so they were on each side of the ship. Killian saw them coming almost immediately and his confusion over seeing two of them was evident. He took a step back from the wheel and drew his sword as they came up to him. Both women stopped about five feet from him.

“Swan, what’s going on here?” he said, his eyes going from one woman to the other as he was unsure which one he should be speaking to.

“Where is Regina?” the other Emma asked.

This time Killian looked at the Emma of his time, perhaps sensing that the other wasn’t the right one.

“I don’t know,” he said.

“Killian,” Emma said taking a step closer to him. She waved off her counterpart who still had the dagger clenched in her hand and had taken a step toward him. “We know you have Regina here. I don’t know why you have decided to get involved in all of this, but as long as Regina is safe I’m willing to listen to whatever you have to say about it. Just tell me where Regina is.”

“Oh, it’s all about the queen now, isn’t it?” he said. “What is it about her? Why is she all of a sudden the center of everyone’s universe? Tell me Swan, did you sleep with her before you broke up with me?”

“Yes I did,” the other Emma said. “And believe me, she is so much better in bed than you ever thought about being.”

“Well, you won’t be paying homage to the queen any longer,” he said.

“What have you done to her?” the other Emma asked.

He shrugged in response.

The other Emma turned to look at her other self. “Go,” she said, nudging her head toward the stairs to below deck. “Find her. I will keep an eye on him.”

Emma hesitated, but her concern over Regina won out and she hurried below deck.

Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she paused to orient herself. She knew the layout of the ship from their trip to Neverland and she tried to think where would be the best place for Hook to have put Regina.

“Sidney!”

As soon as she heard Regina’s voice she rushed in its direction, heedless of anyone else that might be down there. She reached a door and slowed up as she saw what appeared to be symbols drawn all about around it in paint.

“Regina?” she called out.

“Emma,” Regina responded. “Get me out of here.”

“Ok,” Emma said. “Should I be concerned about these symbol thingys out here?”

“They are sigils, and no you shouldn’t be concerned. But they are blocking my magic from working but as soon as I am free from this room they shouldn’t be a problem.”

Emma stepped forward to unlock the door.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you sheriff.”

She turned to see Sidney standing there with a gun pointed at her.

“Sidney, you are in enough trouble without adding shooting a law enforcement officer to it,” she said.

“Why should I be in any trouble?” he said. “I am the one who has been unlawfully imprisoned all of this time while the real criminal has walked free. But this time the queen will pay for all she has done. Now step away from the door.”

Emma took a step to the side. “Look, if you have some sort of evidence for me to consider about your case, fine I will be more than happy to reopen my investigation. All I want it justice, but this right here, you can’t do this. You have to let me free Regina and then we will all leave this ship and sort this out.”

“Do you think me a fool?” he asked. “Do you think I believe for one second that the queen will ever face justice? I did not believe you to be so naïve sheriff. Or is just that you too have fallen under the spell of her majesty like I once did?”

“I’m not under anyone’s spell. I just want us all to get out of this situation without anyone getting hurt.”

“It’s too late for that,” Sidney said. “The queen must pay for all she has done.”

“Not like this,” Emma said. “Think about it Sidney. You aren’t going to do anything to her while I’m here. I won’t let you. What are you going to do, are you going shoot me? Are you going to use that gun and shoot me?”

“I don’t want to hurt you Miss Swan,” he said. “But I won’t let you stop me either.”

“Then we are at a stalemate.”

“No we aren’t,” Sidney said and he raised the gun. Emma stared him down, wondering if he was actually going to shoot her when the shot rang out.

Emma jerked at the sound, and then she saw Sidney turn his head in the direction of the stairs. Even as she heard Regina yell, “Emma” she was moving, ramming her body into Sidney and driving him into the floor. They both went down but Sidney still managed to keep a hold of the gun. Emma reached for it as Sidney struggled to get her off of him. She could still hear Regina yelling for her even as she got a fingertip on the gun. But Sidney pulled it away from her. She was afraid he would be able to tip her over so she stopped reaching for his gun and instead grabbed hers. Once she had hers she gripped it hard and used it to strike Sidney on the side of his face.

He dropped his gun to shield himself but she was quicker, striking him once more. This time it was hard enough to stun him. She picked up Sidney’s gun and got off of him, pointing it at him.

“Emma!”

Emma backed away from Sidney, keeping her eyes on him, she holstered her gun and kept his gun pointed at him. She reached behind her, feeling for the lock – once she had it, she turned quickly and shot the lock off the chain with Sidney’s higher caliber gun. Turning back to Sidney who was practically unconscious on the floor, she reached back to the chain and removed it.

“Emma,”

She risked a glance behind her to see Regina there, the worry stricken on her face. Regina stepped out of the room and looked her over. “You aren’t hurt? He didn’t shoot?”

“No,” Emma said. “That wasn’t his gun that went off.”

“Then whose?”

Emma looked up at the ceiling. “I need you to stay here, keep an eye on him. I’ll be right back.”

“No, I’m not staying here.”

“Can we not make this one of the times we argue?”

“No we can’t. I’m not staying down here.”

“Fine,” Emma said through gritted teeth. “Hold this on him.” She gave over his gun to Regina. As soon as Regina had it secured, Emma bent down and helped the still dazed Sidney to his feet – sort of – and dragged him into the room Regina was in. After dropping him unceremoniously on the floor and exited the room, wrapping the chain as best she could without the lock to secure it.

She held her hand out for Regina to give her Sidney’s. Regina didn’t hesitate and Emma quickly switched guns – feeling more comfortable with her own.

“You stay behind me,” Emma said.

For once Regina didn’t argue as she followed Emma up the stairs. Emma had the gun ready to shoot if necessary. She hadn’t wanted Regina to come up with her because she knew there were only two people up there – Hook and the future Emma – and if it was Emma who was shot, she didn’t want Regina to have to see it.

They got on deck and Emma immediately went toward the wheel. It wasn’t until she was nearly to it that she saw her – Emma standing over Hook, who was backed up against the rail, seated and holding a wound on his stomach. The gun was still in Emma’s hand.

“Emma?” Regina said from behind her. The other Emma turned and saw them.

“Regina!” the other Emma said and she rushed over, ignoring her younger self completely. She stopped just short of Regina, her mouth part way open. “Are you ok? Are you hurt?” she asked Regina.

“No, I’m fine. How? How did you get back …”

Before she could finish the sentence Emma was hugging her.

The Emma from this time, ignored them as he moved toward Hook. “You shot him? Why did you shoot him?”

Future Emma pulled away from Regina. “He attacked me, I didn’t have any choice.”

Current Emma had bent down to check on his wound. “Killian.” His eyes were closing and Emma stood back up. “Regina, I need you to use your magic, take him to the hospital. Now.”

Regina began to move toward them, but other Emma grabbed a hold of her forearm. Regina looked down at where Emma had grabbed her and then up at her. Once she made eye contact Emma let go of her and she went over to Hook, nodding to the current Emma and then she touched Killian’s arm and used her magic to transport them.

As soon as they were gone, current Emma spun around to face her counterpart. “Why did you shoot him?”

“I told you, he attacked me. It was self defense.”

Emma looked down at the deck and saw Killian’s sword was there on it. She supposed he could have dropped it when she shot him. It was about part way from where Hook had been standing when she had left them, which could indicate he had come at the other Emma with it.

“We have to get back to the harbor,” the other Emma said.

Emma nodded. “Suggestions on how we get this ship back into its dock.”

“I say we leave it. Some of the other sailors in town can come out later and bring it in, or it can rot out here for all I care.”

“It’s a crime scene, so we need to get it back into the harbor.”

“I have no idea how to get this boat back there, so why don’t we search the place then pop back over to the small boat and take that back into town and like I said, send some sailors back to retrieve it.”

Emma again considered her counterpart. There was definitely something off about her since she was here last. Even the way she was standing there with her arms crossed practically glaring at her made Emma think something was wrong.

“Fine, but we have to take Sidney back with us,” she said. “I want him in a jail cell as soon as possible. Someone needs to start giving some real answers as to what the hell is going on here and it starts with him.”

….

It was a long time, longer than Emma would have liked, before she got to the hospital. When she had gotten back with the other Emma and Sidney, who had remained silent the entire time, she had called her father only to find out he was already at the hospital. Apparently when Regina had appeared there with an injured Hook, the hospital had tried calling her but since she was out of range they called her father. She told him that she would explain when she got there but she had to take Sidney in to the jail first.

Once she had Sidney secured in a cell, she had returned to her car expecting to find the other Emma there. She had told her to remain there while she processed Sidney, but she was gone. After muttering some curses Emma figured the other Emma had gone to the hospital to see Regina which of course would cause problems for her having to explain why there were two of them. At this point though Emma could care less about such things so she went to the hospital.

However, when she got there and was greeted by her father, he didn’t say anything about another her being there. He asked her what happened and she gave the best version she could – not mentioning the other Emma – and telling him that she had no choice but to shoot Killian because he had come at her with his sword.

Emma was still bothered by the account of it though. When they had searched the ship, she had stayed on deck at first to check things over while the other Emma went below deck. Something about the whole thing didn’t quite seem right, but the only thing she had to go on at this point was the other Emma’s word. There was blood on Killian’s sword which was probably splatter from when he was shot, but there was also a mark on the deck closer to where Killian had been standing when she had left to search for Regina. That mark looked like it could have been caused by the sword falling down right there – and it was a good two feet from where the sword now lay.

But there was no way for her to know if that was an old or new mark on the deck.

Her father didn’t question her account of things much – only saying he would type up the initial report but she would need to do one of her own.

Killian had just been taken out of surgery and Dr. Whale had told her that despite the blood loss, it appeared he would be ok. But it would be a while before he woke so Emma had one of the deputies placed on guard outside of his room.

Finally, she was directed to the room where Regina was at. Henry was there with her, Snow having brought him over.

“Are you ok?” Emma asked.

“I am,” Regina said. “I was going to see about getting discharged actually so I could go home.”

“I suggested she stay over night,” Snow said.

“That’s probably a good idea,” Emma said.

“Dr. Whale has already checked me over,” Regina said. “I really just want to go home and sleep in my own bed. Speaking of which, it’s late, so Snow would you be kind enough to take Henry home with you.”

“I want to stay here,” he said. “Or go home with you.”

Regina gave him a smile. “Thank you, but I don’t know how long it will be before I get discharged and like I said it’s already late. Snow can bring you home first thing in the morning, ok?”

“You shouldn’t be alone in the house,” Henry said. “Not after this.”

“Alright,” Regina conceded. “Why don’t you go ask the nurse to bring me my discharge papers and we’ll go home.”

Henry hurried from the room to do as he was asked.

“You sure about this?” Snow asked.

“No, but it’s where he wants to be so it makes him feel better to be there, it’s fine.”

“Mom, can you give me a moment with her?”

Snow nodded, told Regina to feel better, and then left the room.

“Where is she?” Regina asked, not needing to say who she was.

“I don’t actually know,” Emma said. She went on to explain quickly what had happened with future Emma showing back up and knowing where Regina was being held which was how they knew where to find her. She explained about how they left the ship out there and brought Sidney back who wasn’t saying anything right now.

“The spell book, did you find it on the ship?” Regina asked with urgency.

“No,” Emma said shaking her head. “We only did a quick search.”

“We have to get it back,” she said. “That book is too dangerous.”

Regina had a thoughtful look on her face as she fell silent.

“What is it?” Emma asked.

“I think I might know what this has all been about – why Gold would do this,” she said and then she paused again. The pause continued.

“Ok, so what’s your theory?”

“Neal,” she said. “This is about Neal. I’m such an idiot for not figuring this out before now.”

“How is this about Neal?”

“Finding Neal was the impetus for why Gold manipulated me into casting the curse. He did all of this just for the chance of finding Neal in this world,” Regina said. “Think of the timing of all of this now. Neal is gone because of Zelena’s actions so Gold is once again has a need to get his son back. He must believe that the Living Magic can do this – can bring Neal back from the dead or else he wants the book to try the spell that I considered doing to bring Daniel back. Perhaps when we were back in the Enchanted Forest, when he first approached me about getting the book, that was the reason why as well but for whatever reason he decided not to go through with the Living Magic plan and continued with the plan for the curse instead.”

“You think this Living Magic is powerful enough to bring someone back from the dead?”

“I don’t know, but I know Gold well enough to know that he would do anything for his son.”

Emma didn’t say anything because Henry came back in with the nurse at that point, but she had to admit Regina’s theory made sense. And she couldn’t help but wonder if in that alternate future timeline if Neal was now alive.

While Regina was getting discharged Emma again checked on Hook and made sure the deputy was in place. She gave instructions to call her as soon as Hook woke so she could speak to him. By the time she was done Regina was ready to go. They had already ascertained that Emma would be driving them home. They didn’t say much with Henry in the car with them.

As she parked the car in the driveway, Henry asked, “Are you staying?”

“Yeah,” Emma said. “But I want to go back to the station first and check to see if Sidney is ready to speak.” Now that they had a working theory to go on, she figured she might be able to get some answers by asking better questions. She turned to Regina. “Use your magic to put a barrier up around the house. If anything happens, even if you feel uneasy call me, I’ll get back here.”

Regina nodded and she and Henry got out of the car.

She waited there in the driveway until she saw they were both safely inside before pulling away.

…

When Regina got into the house with Henry, she immediately erected the barrier around the house, leaving it so that Emma could get through it.

“I think we should both head to bed.”

She went toward the stairs.

“Mom, is this done, is this over? I mean are you safe?”

She saw the concern all over his face, but in particular in his eyes. She thought about how it hadn’t been that long ago that Henry had run off to find his birth mother all in an effort to break her curse, to bring her down. It had been a bad time for them – a time when she felt she had lost him for good. To see the obvious love coming from him now warmed her heart.

Walking over to him, she placed her hands on the sides of his face.

“I hope it is,” she said. “But no matter what happens, never doubt that I will always fight to come back to you.”

“I just want you to be safe, for things to return to normal.”

She smiled at him, “well normal around here isn’t necessarily safe,” she said. “but I understand the sentiment. I want everything to be alright too and I have to believe it will be. Now, let us both put this day behind us.”

They walked up the stairs together and Regina wished him good night and stayed there in the hall until his door was shut before making her way to her own room. She was tired, but decided she wanted to take a shower before sleeping. Turning on the water, she stripped while she waited for it warm up. Her wound was bandaged up but she used her magic to make sure the water wouldn’t soak into it. 

She couldn’t help the sound of pleasure that dropped from her mouth as the warm water rained down on her. As much as she wanted to relish the simple joy of a shower, her mind wouldn’t let her. She kept reviewing everything in her mind, wondering what she was missing because she was sure she was missing something. When she first realized the depths by which Gold had set her up to cast the curse she had thought back on everything only to figure out how blinded she had been to all of it.

If Gold was once again behind all of this, she didn’t want to be caught off guard.

Stepping out of the shower, she dried herself off and then wrapped a towel around her body and walked back into her bedroom. As soon as she was through the door and part way to the bed, she was grabbed from behind and a hand was clamped over her mouth.

“Shh,” the person said. “It’s just me. It’s Emma. Letting you go now.”

Regina whirled around to see future Emma standing there. Emma’s eyes raked over from her toes up to her eyes.

“Hey beautiful,” she said with a smile.

 


	50. Chapter 50

Regina saw the way Emma’s eyes combed over her body before reaching her own and she suddenly felt more naked than she already was.

Pulling the towel tighter against her, she asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Where else was I supposed to go?” Emma answered, a smile still on her face. “Seemed natural enough to come here.” She came a little closer, close enough that she could touch Regina. “Besides, I missed you.”

Before Regina could say anything Emma was kissing her. The kiss lasted only a moment and Regina had been about to pull back when Emma did so first. Emma took a step back and again raked her eyes over Regina’s form.

The way Emma was looking at her made her uncomfortable suddenly.

“I should get dressed,” Regina said. She quickly went around the room, grabbing clothes from her dresser and closet before getting back into the bathroom. She glanced back one more time before closing the door and saw Emma taking a seat on her bed.

Once the door was shut, she exhaled deeply. She had been unprepared for future Emma to be there in her room. Even knowing future Emma was back, she had not been ready for it.

Her mind flashed back to the last time she had seen her – there on the couch, her weakness as evident as the love she had for her wife had shown through even the pain.

She took her time getting dressed wondering what it would be like to again be so close to this Emma. Yet, the way Emma had looked at her gave her pause. Sure future Emma had given her desirous looks before, but this was different. This was almost predatory.

When she finally emerged Emma was there standing up and approaching her once more, the smile still on her face.

“I’ve missed you so much,” Emma said. She gave her a hug, holding on to her for longer than what Regina would consider strictly necessary. But when Emma let her go, Regina saw her brush away a tear.

“Are you ok?” Regina asked.

“Yeah,” Emma said, putting her hands in her back pocket. “It’s just been rough you know … without you.”

“I’m sorry that you had to go back to that place, that future,” Regina responded. “We’re going to fix it though. We now know what this has all been about for Gold and we’re not going to let him do this.”

Emma took a step back and bit her bottom lip.

“The future. You can’t know what it’s like,” Emma said. She went back and sat on the bed. “You can’t know what it’s been like for me.”

Regina could see the distress in Emma’s expression. The blonde seemed insecure all of a sudden, almost like a child. Regina came over and knelt in front of her, taking her hands in hers.

“I know I can’t know what it has been like for you, to be ripped from your world. To lose your wife, Henry, your daughter. I can’t imagine what it’s like, but I know how strong you are Emma. I’ve seen it in you from the moment you first walked up to my house that night, when you brought Henry back home. I could see it there in you, and I still see it. Emma, you aren’t alone.”

“Then why do I feel alone? Ever since … ever since I lost you,” she said. “Since that day, I’ve just, I’ve been lost. I’ve been lost without you.”

Emma leaned over and this time Regina moved to meet her for the kiss. There was nothing slow about the kiss – and while Regina felt the desperation in it, it was unlike the kiss they had shared before Emma had disappeared back into the future.

It was the difference that caused Regina to back up.

“Sorry,” Emma said quickly as Regina stood up.

“No,” Regina said. “My fault. You are a married woman after all.”

“Yeah,” Emma said standing up as well. “Except I’m not because that future is lost.”

“You don’t know that,” Regina said. “Like I said, we know now what Gold has been up to. We can stop that other future from happening.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes. We’re going to do it.”

“By we I assume you mean you and my past self?”

“Of course.”

“And you trust her?”

Regina almost started to speak but then stopped, studying Emma. She could understand why this Emma would continue to be at odds with the present version given how they clashed before, but the questioning of whether she could trust her or not came out of the blue.

“I do,” Regina said finally. “She is committed to stopping this other future from happening.”

“But is she committed to you?”

Again Regina wasn’t quick to answer it. She and Emma had been at odds before she had been taken by Sidney but the moment Emma had freed her that had been forgotten.

“She and I … it’s complicated.”

“Which means no,” Emma said.

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“No because you want to see the good in her. You don’t want to see her flaws. You don’t want to think about how Emma gets scared and she runs away or how she dotes on the pirate,” Emma said. “But I know how flawed she is.”

“Why are you saying these things?” Regina asked. “You were the one who came back here and was pushing me and Emma together so we could build our future together. What has changed?”

Regina again studied the woman standing in front of her.

“Nothing. I’m sorry,” Emma said. “Like I said, it’s just been tough not being with you.”

Emma came closer as if she was going to kiss her again.

“Maybe we could talk downstairs in my office. I can fill you in on what we have learned and perhaps you can give us some insight into the where the future stands now,” Regina said, moving to the bedside stand and picking up her phone. “Henry has had a tough couple of days and I would like to keep it quiet up here so he can sleep.”

“Sure,” Emma said. “The bedroom is probably too tempting of a place for us.”

“I’ll be right down,” Regina said. “I just want to check on Henry.”  
Emma nodded and they walked out, Regina going over to Henry’s room. Emma glanced back at her from the stairs and then continued down while Regina slipped into the room.

Henry was asleep already, dead to the world but Regina shook him awake, putting her finger to her lips to indicate he should be quiet.

“Get dressed,” she said.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just get dressed quickly,” she said.

He used his closet to throw on some jeans and a shirt. He was sitting on the edge of the bed pulling on his shoes when Regina again spoke up. “I’m going to use my magic to transport you over to Snow’s place,” she said. “Once there, call Emma, tell her to get over here.”

“What’s wrong? I’m not leaving you here if there is something wrong,” he said, and she indicated he needed to lower his voice.

“You remember how that other Emma was here before – the one from the future?” she said, waiting for him to nod. “She’s back, but there is something different about her. She’s not going to hurt me, but I want you out of here and I want you to have your mother get here discreetly so we can question this future Emma. Do you understand?”

“I don’t want to leave you.”

“I know you don’t, but you have to.”

“Why can’t you just call mom and tell her to get over here?”

“Because, I don’t want you here,” Regina said. “Not until I figure this out. Plus I want the chance to talk to this future Emma before your mom gets here. Despite being the same person, your other mother and this future one do not get along well. She may have answers to why all of this is happening and she might be more willing to give them to me rather than Emma, as crazy as that sounds. I need you to do this Henry.”

“Ok,” he said. “But promise me first that this is safe for you.”

Regina looked toward the door, thinking about that kiss, and then turned back to Henry. “If there is one thing I am confident about, it’s that Emma means me no harm.”

Henry stood up and gave her a hug.

“Remember to tell your mom to be discreet about getting over here. And if she doesn’t know what that means, explain it to her.”

“I will,” he said. She waved her hand and Henry disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Now to go downstairs and figure out what exactly was going on, she thought. She wasn’t certain, but there was something different about future Emma and after all she had been through since this had all started she was done being the victim.

She went down the stairs, using her magic to sweep the house and make sure no one else was there despite the barrier she had put up outside. It detected nothing, but she wasn’t going to take any chances.

She paused outside the office, steeling herself for whatever was to come.

Opening the door, she saw Emma standing near the window looking out of it. There was an edginess to her that Regina hadn’t noticed upstairs. It was like looking at a person who wasn’t comfortable in their own skin – a feeling she herself had felt once upon a time.

“Who are you?” Regina asked.

Emma turned toward her. “It’s me, Emma.”

“Yes, I can see that,” she said walking to the center of the room. “But you aren’t the Emma from this time and you are not the Emma from the future who was here before.”

“I overplayed my hand a bit upstairs, didn’t I?”

“Just a bit. So I will ask again, who are you?”

“I’m Emma from the future.”

“Explain.”

Emma sighed, “I come from a future without you. I wasn’t lying up there when I said I feel lost and have felt lost without you,” she said. “You have no idea what it’s like for me to be here now, to see you here, living in this house with Henry and knowing that your future – the future from this timeline is one where you are the one who is alone. That as lost as I feel now, is how you will feel in the future.”

Regina took a step back, unsure what this Emma was talking about. “You’re wrong,” she said finally. “My future in this timeline is to marry Emma and have a family.”

“No,” Emma said shaking her head. She said is so simply, without emotion that Regina thought she was telling the truth. “Emma marries Killian in this timeline. They have a family together and while Henry is still in your life, he becomes more part of that world than yours. You lose him to the family you were never able to provide for him. That is why I’m here. I lost you in my time and all I want is a second chance.”

“I …I don’t understand,” Regina said.

Emma bent down and she pulled the Dark One’s dagger from her under her pant leg and approached Regina. “I know you used your magic, I felt it. You sent Henry from here. That tells me that you don’t trust me. But I want you to trust me because all I want is what is best for you. I messed up … I destroyed what you and I could have had in my timeline and I will do whatever I can to make up for that. Here.”

She held the dagger out to Regina.

“You may not trust me, but I trust you,” Emma said. “Take it. You know as long as it is in your hands that you can compel me to tell you the truth if you command it.”

Regina hesitated before taking the dagger from her. She held it out in front of her for a moment and she saw the anticipation in Emma’s eyes. Lowering the dagger, she decided she would not use it – not yet.

“What happened to the other Emma?” Regina asked. “The one that was here before?”

“She’s back in my timeline.”

Regina’s eyes tightened and she looked over to her desk where her laptop still lay.

“You … you are the Emma from the videos, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Regina let this sink in. This was the Emma who had slept with her (well not her if what Emma had just said was to be believed, but another future her) and then turned around and took her son from her. This was the Emma that had given birth to that other Alex – the one whose existence she needed to stop.  

“I’m sorry,” Emma said. “I know you aren’t her, but standing here face to face I have to say it. I’m so sorry for what I did. I’m sorry that I … I caused all of this. If I could take it all back I would. Every day is like being tortured over and over again because every day I wake up and you aren’t there and it’s my fault, it’s my fault.”

There were tears coming down Emma’s face as she spoke and Regina couldn’t help but feel bad for this woman – feel bad for the decisions she had made that turned her into the person she was now. Regina could relate to this. She had been this woman – the one who made horrible decisions which would later haunt her.

“Let’s take a seat,” Regina said. She sat first on the couch and Emma sat on the other end after she wiped the tears from her eyes. “How did you get back here?”

“The same way the other Emma did,” she said.

“Why did you come back here, why not her?”

“I’ll try not to take offense at that,” Emma said, and for a moment she seemed more like the Emma of this time than she had previously. It was the push back, the snarky comment that reminded Regina of the Emma of this time. “She couldn’t come back. The spell she used to get back here is a one time trip. She couldn’t come back, but she wanted to in order to make sure you were safe. We knew about Sidney taking you. She and I worked together to get me back here so nothing would happen to you.”

“I still don’t understand. How did you know Sidney took me? How are you the Dark One?” Regina said. “How is she in your time exactly?”

“You know I think if we are going to have this talk we should have something to drink.”


	51. Chapter 51

When she dropped off Regina and Henry, Emma went straight back to the jail. She didn’t like the idea of leaving Regina and Henry alone but she needed to get answers and she swore Sidney was going to give them to her.

She still wondered where the other Emma had gone to. Of course, her keeping a low profile was probably for the best.

She was also worried about Killian. Despite his part in all of this, she hoped he would pull through. Plus she wanted to be able to ask him some questions.

None of this made any sense to her.

It made her feel like she was missing something hugely obvious that she should be able to see clearly, but for whatever reason she couldn’t. This couldn’t all be random is the one thing she had concluded.

There was no way that Sidney and Hook doing this now had nothing to do with this whole time mess they had ended up in.

Could this all be about Neal? It made sense in a lot of ways – that Gold would create a magic that he hoped would bring Neal back to life. Gold had proven that he was willing to do anything to be reunited with his son.

She got to the jail but she stayed in her car thinking of a long time – longer than she probably should have since she wanted to get back to the mansion.

When she entered Sidney was sitting in the cell, acting so calm that Emma wondered if this was what he was like when he was in the secure ward at the hospital.

She pulled a seat up to the bars and sat down, leaning forward, but he wasn’t even looking at her, instead staring at the wall across from him.

“Sidney.”

No response.

“Sidney,” she said again.

Again no response.

“If you are trying to play the crazy card in order to get sent back to the hospital you can forget it,” Emma said. “You’re staying right here and you and I are going to have a little chat.”

This time Sidney did look over at her, studying her with an air of superiority.

“Why did you kidnap Regina?”

“Why haven’t you locked her up sheriff?” he countered. “Surely the things she has done merit her being here just as much as me.”

“So you admit you should be here?”

He laughed. “Yes, I have sinned, overly so I guess you could say. But should I pay for those sins when most of them lie at the feet of the queen?”

Emma had come into this already aggravated and so far this wasn’t helping.

“Why did you kidnap Regina?” Emma repeated. “Why now?”

“Opportunity,” he said. “She came to see me.”

“Yes she did,” Emma said. “She came to see you about a book, a very specific book. What did you tell her about it?”

“Ask her?”

“I did, now I’m asking you.”

“I told her nothing,” Sidney said. “In fact I warned her of the dangers of messing with such things, but as usual, the queen does what the queen wants. You should be careful sheriff – do you really think that anything her majesty does is for the greater good. She doesn’t know the meaning of the phrase. If I were you, I would lock her up – see that she is finally punished for her numerous crimes.”

“So this is just about revenge for you then?” Emma asked.

“Justice.”

“What do you know of justice?”

“What do you know if it, sheriff? You know the things the queen has done. You know as long as she remains alive she is a danger to everyone you care about. Why aren’t you taking care of the problem?”

“We aren’t here to talk about Regina, unless it relates to why you kidnapped her and what you were planning on doing with her. Now let’s start from the beginning. She came to see you in the hospital and you attacked her, correct?”

“I’m sure you have all the proof you need that you don’t need me to confirm that.”

Emma stood up and began to pace in front of the cell. “Then you took her to Dr. Whale, why? Why if you think she needs to pay for her sins did you not let her die? From what I understand if you had left her unattended she could have bled out and then there would be no queen, so why didn’t you?”

“Oh, that would be too easy sheriff. For all she has done do you really think that she deserves to get off that easy?”

“Then if the plan wasn’t to kill her, what was the plan? How were you going to make her pay?”

Sidney smiled at her and Emma wished she could wipe that smile off of face.

“What was the plan Sidney? Why were you with Killian? Why were you out on the Jolly Roger with him? What was the plan?”

“I think we’re done here sheriff.”

“Not by a long shot,” she said hitting the bars with her palms. “I want some answers and I want them now.”

“What was the question?” he mocked.

Emma stepped away from the cell a moment, thinking of another tactic she could possibly take. Sidney had one weakness that she was aware of and that was Regina, but it appeared his love affair with her was now over. Still, she thought, Regina was still a sore spot for him.

“Do you want to know the reason I’m not going to do anything about Regina and her supposed crimes?”

“Supposed?” he snorted.

“The person who did those things, that’s not Regina. That was the Evil Queen. She’s not the same person, not anymore. She’s changed and it’s a shame that you can’t see that. It’s a shame you can’t see the woman she has become,” Emma said. “I have gotten to see it and it’s beautiful. She is beautiful.”

“So it’s true, you have fallen under her spell?”

Emma smiled back seeing Sidney was not happy about her calling Regina beautiful. “Yes, I suppose you could say I have. But unlike you, I’ve actually gotten to experience the queen in a way you never will. And believe me, her lips, well let’s just say there is nothing quite like kissing them.”

Sidney stood up and approached the bars while clapping. “Still won’t save her.”

Emma backed up a step. “What do you mean by that?”

“If I had to guess, you are already too late.”

Emma’s phone rang and she saw it was Snow.

“Mom?”

“Mom,” Henry said. “It’s me Henry. I’m at grandma’s; mom sent me here with her magic and told me to call you. She wants you to get over to the house. The other you is there. She doesn’t think that she is in any danger, but she wants you to get there and she said be discreet.”

“Discreet? I will bust down the bloody door if I have to.”

“You don’t think she is in danger do you? I mean that other woman is you.”

“No, of course she is safe,” Emma said, trying to at least make Henry think that even if she didn’t. “I will get over there right now and we’ll call you so you know she is safe.”

She hung up the phone and looked at Sidney who had a smile on his face.

“You better get there in a hurry.”

Emma ran out – she was going to get to Regina before anything happened and if she didn’t, she swore she would make her future self pay regardless of the repercussions.

…

Regina took a sip of the cider as she listened to future Emma speak. They were sitting on the couch talking. She had been going through her story – most of which Regina knew through watching the videos, yet she still found it compelling to listen to this Emma speak of it now.

Hearing this Emma speak of her love for the Regina of that time was intriguing. She spoke of how she had always found Regina attractive, but it was like they were destined to be on opposite sides. Yet as more time passed she knew that Regina was the only one who truly understood her.

Then when they made love – an instance that Emma began describing in detail until Regina told her that it wasn’t necessary.

When it came to Regina’s death, Emma broke down. It was several minutes before Emma could continue to speak and when she did it was about finding the letter that Regina had been writing to her.

“I always wanted to know what she was going to say in that letter,” Emma said.

Regina was about to tell her that she did know when the door was kicked in and her Emma was there with her gun drawn.

“Stand up and move away from her,” Emma commanded her counterpart.

“Emma, what are you doing?” Regina asked.

“I’m keeping you safe,” Emma said. “Now you, move away from her.”

The future Emma put her glass down slowly on the coffee table and stood up, again keeping her movements deliberate.

“Emma,” Regina said. “I think you are overreacting.”

“No,” Emma said. “I’m finally reacting to something before it happens.” Emma kept her gun pointed at the other Emma but she reached behind her to retrieve her handcuffs which she tossed over to future Emma. “Put those on.”

“Emma!” Regina said again, but even as she did the future Emma put the cuffs on. Regina moved over to the present Emma. “What do you think you are doing?”

“You were just kidnapped,” Emma said. “And I was speaking with Sidney and he suggested something else was going to happen, something I was going to be too late to prevent and then I get a call from our son saying she was here and you wanted me to get over here.”

“Did he mention I wanted you to be discreet? Because kicking in my door is the opposite of discreet,” Regina said. “And there is nothing going on here except for this Emma telling me how she ended up here because this Emma isn’t the Emma from before. This is the Emma from the videos.”

Emma looked over at the now cuffed Emma as if seeing her for the first time.

“She’s also the new Dark One and I have the dagger,” Regina said making it appear in her hand. “Which means she isn’t going to do anything to me as long as I have this. Now will you lower that gun?”

“I will lower it when you explain to me why I or you should listen to her or believe anything she has to say.”

“I don’t know that there is anything I can tell you,” Regina said. “But I do think she is worth listening to – she has answers to things and if you haven’t noticed answers are something we have been short on since this started. She has already told me that none of this – none of this has taken place in the same timeline.”

“What do you mean?”

“The other Emma who was here before, that isn’t our future. This Emma’s time, that isn’t our future either,” Regina said. “In our timeline, the one we are on, you and I … we have no future together. You marry Killian in this timeline.”

Emma lowered the gun, taking her eyes off Regina and looking at the other Emma.

“Is this true?”

Future Emma nodded.

“So if none of this has to do with our timeline why is this happening? Why are you back here if this isn’t your past?”

“Just because this isn’t my past doesn’t mean I don’t care about what happens to her,” future Emma said nodding toward Regina. “I’m here to make sure nothing happens to her.”

Emma’s attention went back to Regina. Neither woman said anything but it was as if there was a silent conversation happening in the space between them.

“She was explaining everything,” Regina said finally. “We only got as far as the part after the death of the Regina from her timeline.”

“If she’s the Emma from the videos then we already know about all of that.”

“If?” future Emma said. “Why would I lie about that or anything else?”

“I don’t know but ever since all of this started we’ve been at a disadvantage of not knowing what is going on,” the present Emma said. She was past the point of frustration and the presence of her future self bothered her. Even knowing now that she wasn’t the same future Emma as before Emma found she distrusted and disliked this version of her. Seeing what she had done to her life through those videos – hearing about the choices she had made – Emma couldn’t even be happy that this wasn’t her future because she knew there was no way she could ever believe this woman.

“She wants it that way,” future Emma said. “Alex. She wants you at a disadvantage. She has manipulated all of this from the very beginning. She can see across timelines and she chose this one in particular –more specifically, she had chosen you Regina, out of all the possible versions of you, she wants this version.”

“Why me? Why any of this? If she wants me so bad why all of this? Why not come at me directly?”

“For one, she can’t. While she can see across the timelines, even communicate across them, she can’t physically travel between them,” future Emma said. “She needs you to come to her. That is why I’m here. She sent me to fetch you.”

Emma raised her gun up again and approached her counterpart. “Were you supposed to collect her from Sidney and Killian? Is that why the kidnapping happened? Start explaining yourself.”

“If you hadn’t noticed that is what I’ve been trying to do,” future Emma said. “Put away the gun, you’re just being ridiculous at this point when we both know you aren’t going to shoot me. I may have been sent back here to bring her back with me, but do you really think I would be telling you all of this if that is what I planned to do? If I wanted that I wouldn’t have bothered approaching you for your help to rescue her from Sidney and Hook. I would have simply gotten her there and returned. That would have been the easy thing to do. Alex has been communicating with Sidney and Hook.”

There was a clear sound of disdain when she said Hook.

“She’s been using books somehow to communicate with them. I don’t know how she is doing it exactly,” future Emma said. “She arranged for the kidnapping just like she arranged to have the Jolly Roger from my timeline sent back here as payment to Hook for services rendered.”

“That makes sense,” Regina said. “Those wards that Sidney erected, those were complex. I’m not sure I could even have put them up without taking some time and study. Alex must have told him how to do it or done it herself before she sent the Jolly Roger here. When I went there to the hospital, Sidney was reading a book – a book that didn’t seem his type of fare frankly. What about Gold, where does he fit into all of this?”

“He doesn’t. At least not your version of Gold. It’s the version in my timeline who started all of this with the killing of my Regina and the implanting of the living magic inside of me,” future Emma explained. “He is the reason Alex exists and you were right, he did create Alex in the hopes that she would be able to bring back Neal. You were right about that.”

“Did she succeed?” Emma asked. She was unable to hold back from asking.

“Can you take these off?” future Emma asked putting her handcuffed hands up toward her.

Emma looked over at Regina who nodded and then she re-holstered her gun and then uncuffed her.

“Now answer the question.”

“Yes she succeeded,” future Emma said. “Although the Neal she brought back was nothing more than a revenant. He was a monster. There is no other way to describe it.”

“She used the spellbook,” Regina said. Emma had already told her that they hadn’t found it on the ship and Regina had wondered given his reaction to it if Sidney had dumped it into the water to get rid of it.

“I don’t understand,” present Emma said. “If this is about Alex getting Regina and she sent you to get her, where does the other future Emma fall into all of this?”

“Where is she exactly anyway? You said she was back in your timeline,” Regina asked.

“She is back there,” future Emma said. “You see Alex took her from her timeline, made her think my timeline was hers but that it had been messed up. It got her to travel back here. She honestly thought that you were her wife and that if she could fix things here that her timeline would be fixed. It wasn’t until she returned that she discovered she had been tricked. She was a pawn.”

“But why?” Emma pressed. “Why send her here at all? And why not trick her into bringing Regina back with her if that is what this Alex wanted?”

“Could you stop asking every question with an if?” future Emma shot back. “This is what is happening.  You don’t have any idea what Alex is capable of, I do. She sent that other Emma back to test you. The reason she chose you – you out of all the incarnations possible of you – is that you aren’t with her.”

She pointed over at Emma.

“Why is that important?” Regina asked.

“Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?” Emma asked.

“I don’t know but that was important to her,” future Emma said. “It wasn’t like you are the only Regina in all the worlds that isn’t with me, well, that world’s me. You are the one she chose though so she had to be sure you and her weren’t anything to each other.”

“Why not just send you back to test then and then you grab Regina and turn her over?” Emma asked.

She shrugged. “You’ve seen the videos. I wasn’t in my best place after all of it. I was … inadequate for what she wanted. She needed an Emma that Regina could possibly connect to. The only reason I’m here now is because that Emma returned earlier than expected and she couldn’t come back again. I’m not going to let Alex win. When I go back I plan on taking that dagger and plunging it into her heart assuming she has one.”

“She returned early because she used her magic up on me,” Regina said. She took a seat back on the couch. “What happens to her? If you go back and kill Alex what happens to that other Emma?”

“I don’t know,” future Emma said. “Maybe killing Alex will automatically send her back to her own time.”

“I doubt it,” Regina said. “This Alex has strong enough magic to pull someone from another timeline then that shows intent. The magic as a purpose. It means that magic has to purposely send her back. It would be unlikely for it to happen on accident.”

Regina fell silent and both Emmas stood there as they could tell she was deep in thought.

“I take it you have means to take me back with you,” Regina said finally.

“Well yes, but I’m not going to.”

“Yes you are,” Regina said standing back up. “You are going to take me back so that I can send the other Emma back to her own timeline.”

“What?” both Emma said.

“I’m not going to let that other Emma be stranded in a timeline that isn’t hers. I’m going to get her back to her wife and her family.”

“No you aren’t,” future Emma said. “You would be delivering yourself to Alex if you step foot in that timeline.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m with her,” present Emma said. “You aren’t going to that future timeline.”

“Well lucky for me neither of you is my wife, and will never be so you don’t get to tell me what to do,” Regina said. “Now it is getting late and I was already tired before this. I suggest we speak more about this in the morning. I assume you both either know your way to your place or the guest room or the couch – I don’t care what you choose.”

She walked out of the room, leaving the two Emmas alone.

The future Emma was the first one to make a move – heading in the direction Regina had gone, but Emma grabbed her arm. “Where do you think you are going?”

“You heard her, she didn’t care where we sleep and I’m not sleeping on the couch.”

“You aren’t sleeping here at all,” Emma said pulling her toward the front door. “And I’m not going to let you out of my sight. Let’s go.”

…

Regina was woken up early the next morning by an Emma at her door just after 5 a.m.

“Coffee,” Emma said. “Please tell me you have coffee.”

“Did you get any sleep Miss Swan?” Regina said moving so Emma could get in. She recognized it was the present day Emma immediately.

“No, I was up all night babysitting myself,” Emma said. “And that sounded weird, right?”

“Yes, but I’m beginning to realize that is how our lives are – weird,” Regina said. “Where is your future self now?”

Regina went to the kitchen as Emma followed behind her. She went directly to the nearest seat and sat down while Regina began to make the coffee.

“Asleep,” Emma said. “I finally waited her out long enough that she fell asleep.”

“And you are sure it’s safe to just leave her alone?”

“No, but I needed to talk to you. Why are you questioning whether it’s safe?” Emma asked. “You two were all cozy together last night. I felt like I was interrupting.”

“You were interrupting,” Regina said. “Oh and remind me to buy you a dictionary for your next birthday so you might look up the word discreet.”

“It is way too early for your sass.” Emma kept her head propped up on her hand. “By the way, call our son as soon as it is time for normal people to be up. Sending him to my mom’s freaked him out a bit, but I talked to him after I left here and he would feel better to hear you say you are fine. Of course I’m not sure you are fine unless you have decided after a short night’s sleep that your plan to go to the future is crazy.”

Regina didn’t say anything in response as they waited for the coffee to finish brewing. When it was finally done she sat a cup down in front of Emma and then took her own seat along with her own cup.

“I appreciate that you have concerns about this plan,” Regina said. “I have not changed my mind however.”

Emma groaned as she put the cup of coffee down. She hadn’t even gotten to take a drink. “You do understand that this is stupid, right. I mean flat out of stupid,” Emma said. “You can’t put yourself in Alex’s crosshairs by going back there. You can’t just up and leave our son. You can’t go to the future with her.”

“I wasn’t planning on going with her, I was planning on going with you. And if this works out we’ll be back here,” she said.

“Wait, where did you get the idea that I should be going with you,” Emma said, already confused and too tired to know if it was her that was confused or Regina. “And again, what happened to you being all buddy buddy with other me last night.”

“I was trying to learn as much as I could from her. That is also on the agenda for the day so I hope you don’t mind if I borrow her.”

Emma took a drink of her coffee – she felt that it pointless to try and stay awake but at the same time she hoped it might help her follow all of this a little better. She took one more and then set it down.

“Can you maybe explain to me what is going through that your head of yours?” Emma asked. “Because I got no idea what is going on?”

“First of all,” Regina said making the Dark One’s dagger appear. “This is a fake.”

Emma grabbed it from her hand and examined it. “How do you know?”

“I’ve been around this, been around Rumplestiltskin enough to know the real one and that isn’t it. She presented that to me last night as a way to get me to trust her,” she said. “I pretended that it did just that. I thought about what you said before when the other Emma was here when you thought she was conning me. You said con artists try to get you to do something in a way that makes you think it is your idea. She presented it to me on a silver platter last night by pretending the one thing she wants me to do was the last thing she wanted me to do.”

“Go to the future.”

“Exactly,” Regina said. “She is protesting me going back only so that I will. She knows that I’m not likely to let you or even two yous stand in my way went I get an idea in my head. I’m sure given some more time with her today she will start to give suggestions about how I could get to the future or taking me there.”

“Ok, so why go at all if this is what she wants to happen?”

“For the same reason I said last night, to help the other Emma. We can’t leave her there stranded in a timeline where she doesn’t belong,” Regina said. “I can’t. Then there is the matter of Alex. You heard her say it, I’m not the only Regina that isn’t with you but she chose me, which means if this plan fails why can’t she just choose another. Maybe she even expected to fail and this was just a trial run to see how things might go. The point is, if we don’t stop Alex then she’ll do it again.”

Emma rubbed her eyes and then took another drink.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but we don’t know enough about this Alex to be taking her on. We don’t even know why she wants you. We don’t know how to get to this future time. We don’t know if that other future Emma is even alive and there. This Emma has proven she lies so how do we know she is telling the truth about that other Emma,” she said, getting a headache just thinking about it.

“There is something else that is bothering me,” Regina said. “When I mentioned the spellbook last night, she didn’t react. It could be nothing, but it bothers me that she didn’t at least confirm that the spellbook was used by this Alex to bring Neal back.”

“See there are way too many unanswered questions here for this even to be a discussion at this point.”

“We have to discuss it. Time isn’t on our side here. I don’t think it’s been on our side this entire time,” Regina said. “It’s why I want to talk to your future self today. She has the answers we need.”

“You can’t expect her to all of a sudden start telling the truth,” Emma said. “And if she senses that you know the truth, what then? What do you think she is willing to do in order to get you to go to the future?”

“She won’t hurt me.”

“Really because she is apparently willing to deliver you to this Alex.”

“She won’t hurt me because of the love she had for my other self,” Regina said. “She still loves her and right now I’m the closest thing to that other Regina for her. Plus, I have something else that she wants.”

“What is that?”

“Her Regina was writing a letter to her right before she died as you know. She wants to know what Regina was going to say to her in it. I know what the letter was going to say,” Regina said. “Believe me when I tell you that she will do whatever I need her to do in order to know that information.”

Having been a hitchhiker in that Emma’s mind, Emma knew that letter was a sticking point for her. Hell, even she wanted to know what that Regina was going to write in it.

“Ok so you don’t think she will hurt you, fine, but we still need to be on guard for her trying something. And I have no intention of leaving you alone with her.”

“You have to let us be alone.”

“God, could we not argue over every single point.”

“I don’t know if that is possible for us,” Regina said. “It’s probably a good thing you and I weren’t meant to be together.”

Neither had mentioned anything about the revelation that they weren’t supposed to end up together in this timeline until now. Emma didn’t appreciate Regina throwing it out there so casually, so she stood up.

“I will let you know when she wakes up,” Emma said. “Perhaps you can pick her up then and have your alone time with her. And don’t forget to call Henry.”

She walked out without saying anything else and Regina didn’t try to stop her. Even as she was getting into her car she wondered why she didn’t feel a little relief in knowing that Regina wasn’t destined to be her wife.


	52. Chapter 52

  
** In the future **   
  
Alex screamed in delight as Emma pushed her on the backyard swing. The sounds coming from her daughter filled her with joy. There was a time when she thought she would never get to hear this ever again. The first night she had returned from that other timeline after she was sure Regina was asleep she had snuck out of the bed and had quietly gone into Alex’s room and watched her sleep. She wasn’t sure how long she had been in there but she tore herself away and went to the downstairs bathroom where she wept.

She had almost lost this – she had almost never gotten to be  with her family again. 

And it was all because of that other Alex. She had taken her away from her life, made her believe that in order to get it back to that life she had to get another Emma and Regina together to restore her future. It had all been part of a well-thought out plan by that Alex to bring that other Regina forward in time and to that other timeline so she could get her hands on her. 

All of this so she could get Regina’s soul.

She couldn’t let that happen. It may not be her Regina but she considered that soul sacred. She had no doubt that she and her Regina were soul mates and while that may not hold true for their counterparts in that timeline she would be damned if she would let that soul get into Alex’s hands.

They finished up on the swing and Emma took her daughter inside so they could get washed up before dinner. They would be going to Granny’s for dinner as Regina had been busy almost every night consulting with Mr. Gold on how to pull off their traveling through time.    
Regina hadn’t given her a lot of specifics but according to her wife they were getting close to a solution.    
Emma hoped so. She didn’t think that it would take long before that other Regina would make the decision to travel to the future with that double-crossing Emma.

The first thing Regina and Gold had figured out was a way for them to know when that other Regina got into that timeline. It was Daniel’s ring. It was back there with that other Regina where Emma had given it to her. That was one of the more painful parts of the conversation she had with her wife that first night she returned – explaining to her that she given away the ring to that other Regina and it remained in that timeline. She figured her Regina would be more upset with her than she was, but she had simply said, “I gave that ring to you, it was yours, it was no longer mine.”

Her giving that ring to that other Regina turned out to be a stroke of luck. They could use that ring to track that other Regina. Of course it depended on Regina actually having the ring with her when she did so.

That was not a concern her wife shared. 

“She’ll be wearing it,” Regina said.

“How can you be so certain?” Emma asked.

“Because I know she will be wearing it.”

“How?”

Regina sighed. “I know because I would be wearing it. I would put it back on a chain and it would be hanging from my neck.”

“That is how you would handle it,” Emma said. “But I think we have already determined that she and that other Emma aren’t exactly us.”

“That Emma may not be like you, in fact I still question her sanity for not seeing me – well the other me as a spectacular specimen of woman, but that other Regina is definitely like me.”

“You haven’t even met her.”

“She fell for you didn’t she?” Regina said, raising her eyebrows. “As did I.”

If her wife was correct, and she was willing to bet she was, then they did indeed have a way to track when she was in that other time. Now they just needed to figure out how to travel there themselves.

It was later that evening when Alex had been put down to bed that Emma went in search of her wife. Throughout dinner she had gotten the distinct feeling that something was bothering Regina – or atleast that her mind was preoccupied. 

She found Regina coincidentally in the same room where they had shared that first conversation and drink all those years ago. Regna was currently seated and nursing a drink. Emma poured her own drink but remained standing. 

“So are you ready to tell me what’s on your mind?’ Emma asked.

Regina took a drink. “We now have a way to travel to that other timeline.”

“That’s good,” Emma said until she saw her wife’s expression. “That should be good news but I gather it is not.”

“No, it’s good. You actually gave us all we needed to know,” Regina said. “It was kind of easy to put all the pieces into place. With Gold’s assistance we will be able to get there. It’s the getting back that is the problem.”

“Can’t we just do the same thing we do to get there?

“That is our only option yes,” Regina said.

“Ok,” Emma said. “What say you stop dancing around this and flat out tell me what the problem is?”

“The Dark One is the problem,” Regina said. “We need the Dark One’s powers to travel between the timelines. Gold can help us on this end but once we get to that other timeline we will need the Dark One’s powers on that side to get home. That means that other Emma who is now the Dark One would have to open the portal for us. And if she isn’t willing …”

“Then I will force her to do it.”

“Forcing a Dark One to do your bidding is possible if you possess the dagger but getting that dagger could be an issue,” Regina said. “Even if we do get it, it would mean still leaving her there with that power. Given what she has done and is willing to do, we can’t just let that happen.”   
Emma put her drink down, “What are you suggesting?”

“I’m saying, we have to strip her of that power. One of us has to do that. One of us will have to become the Dark One in order to get us back here,” Regina said. This time she put her drink down and stood to approach Emma. “I wouldn’t ask you to take that on again.”

“No,” Emma said moving around her. “You are not becoming the Dark One. No, that is not an option.”

“It’s going to have to be. Do you think I like this? I don’t. If this is what it is going to take then this is what has to happen.”

“Then I will be the one to do it,” Emma said. “I had to do it when I was in that other timeline, I can do it again.”

“You said it yourself, you were so focused on getting back here that you didn’t let yourself really feel that magic inside you. But when you did it the Dark One’s magic felt unnatural to you,” Regina countered. “It felt unnatural because you are a product of true love. You were born with white magic. Those things do not mesh with the Dark One’s magic. But me, my history is with dark magic. It won’t feel as unnatural to me as it did to you.”

“You don’t have any idea what it will be like,” Emma said. “You have no idea and you won’t have any idea because you are not doing this. I won’t allow it.”

“You won’t allow it,” Regina said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think I was asking.”

“I don’t care if you were asking or not, it’s not happening,” Emma said. “End of discussion.”

“I’m not going to allow you to do it either then,” Regina said crossing her arms. “I guess that puts us at a stalemate.”

“There is no stalemate,” Emma said. “If this is the only way for us to do this, then we aren’t doing it all.”

“And what about the other Regina?’

“She will have to handle this on her own,” Emma said walking out.   
….   
  
It was two days later and Emma and Regina were still not fully talking to each other. Regina had tried to speak to her wife again the next morning but Emma wasn’t willing to listen to her unless she agreed it would be Emma taking on the Dark One’s curse.

Neither woman it seemed was prepared to back down.

That night after dinner Regina broke the silence.

“The other me, she’s there in that alternate future time,” Regina said. 

Emma paused mid-bite into her food. “How long?”

“She’s been there since this afternoon.”

Regina could tell Emma wanted to say something more, but she didn’t. Instead she continued to eat her food in silence. 

“So that’s it then? You intend to leave her there alone.”

“I won’t risk you,” Emma said. “Do you have any idea how much it would destroy me if something happened to you?”

“Yes,” Regina answered immediately. “I know because I lost you. You were just gone. You were gone and I couldn’t find you. I tried, but I failed. I thought you were gone forever. Don’t sit there and act like I don’t know what the risk is because I lived through it the same as you.”

Emma reached over and put her hand on top of her wife’s. “I know,” she said. “But don’t you see, the difference is I can’t lose you. I’m not that strong of a person to lose you. But you, you are the strongest person I know. You are a survivor. It’s part of why I love you so much.”

“The reason I have the strength I have is because of my family,” Regina said. “We are and always will be stronger together.”   
Emma pulled back from her. “Which is exactly why we are staying right here in our own time and reality.”

Regina didn’t respond and they ate the rest of their meal in silence.   
….   
The alarm went off on her phone and Regina rolled over and turned it off. Turning on the bed side light she glanced over at the empty spot on the bed where normally her wife would be lying since it was 3 a.m.

Taking her time Regina got up and dressed in casual clothes. Once ready she went to Alex’s room. Her daughter’s night light gave her enough illumination to make out Alex’s features as she slept. She wondered if Emma had also stood here watching Alex sleep before she had slipped out of the house. Bending down she placed a kiss on Alex’s head.

“We’ll come back to you. I promise,” she said and then quietly moved out of the room.

Her next stop was Henry’s room. He was sitting up on his bed having set his alarm at the same time as Regina had.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked.

“I’m sure I have to be at your mom’s side when we do this,” she said. “Now come here and give me a hug.”

Henry got up and hugged her, holding on a little tighter than normal.

“I’ll watch over Alex until you return,” Henry said when he pulled back.

“Thank you,” Regina said. “In the morning, call your grandparents, let them know what is going on.”

“How long do you think you will be gone?”

“I don’t know,” Regina said. “Hopefully not long, but we can’t come back until we put an end to the problem in that other time. But we will be back.”

“I know you will,” Henry smiled. 

She gave him one more hug before turning to go. She paused one more time and almost went into Alex’s room again, but she forced herself not to. She had some place else she needed to be

.….

  
Emma kept twisting her wedding ring round and round on her finger. It seemed to fit a little looser since she got back or maybe it was just her imagination.    
She glanced over at Gold who was working next to the portal – working on activating it so that Emma could use it to travel to that other time. She had to save that other Regina because it was her fault she was going there in the first place. She just hoped her Regina would forgive her for going rogue like this.

It hurt her to leave her family like she had. She had laid there in bed waiting for Regina to fall asleep. And even when Regina fell asleep she had stayed there watching Regina sleep for a while, not wanting to leave her again. Still she forced herself to get up out of bed. 

Emma spent time in Alex’s room as well before she left, giving her daughter a kiss before leaving her. As much as she wanted to also stop in Henry’s room she didn’t, knowing her son was most likely to wake up and she didn’t want to have to answer any of his questions. 

“Gold, what is taking so long?” Emma asked. “I thought you had it all figured out already.”

“He does,” Regina said, walking into view. “He is only stalling because I asked him to until I got here.”

Emma got to her feet as her wife approached.

“Did you really think that I wouldn’t know you planned on doing this?” Regina asked.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” Emma said.

Regina gestured that she should sit back down and once she did Regina took a seat beside her, holding her hand.

“You really shouldn’t have been surprised,” Regina said. “I know you so well. At least now I do. Do you remember when I finally decided to go out with you?”

“Of course,” Emma said. “You gave me a hard enough time leading up to it.”

“Do you know why I gave you a hard time about it?

“Because you were dating Robin.”

“No,” Regina said. “Well not entirely. Back then, the first time you asked me out it seemed so random. In fact I’m pretty sure I was so stunned I didn’t actually answer that first time.”

Emma laughed at the memory of it. “Yeah, you just sort of walked away from me.”

“What I couldn’t figure out was what took you so long.”

Emma looked at her in confusion. 

“You knew there was this connection between us. You felt it just as I did, but you never did anything about it until that moment, why?”

Emma shrugged, “because when I saw you and Robin together I saw what should have been us. I saw a whole future with you that I was letting slip away because I had been too afraid to man up and admit how I really felt about you. I knew if I didn’t do something to show you that I was worth taking a chance with that I would always regret it.”

“Just like you will regret it if you don’t try and do something to save this other Regina. It’s why I knew when I told you that she was in that time that you would try something like this. I had prepared Gold for the possibility and told him to stall until I got here because I’m not letting my wife do this alone.”

“But the Dark One’s curse. I can’t let you …”

“And I can’t let you so I guess we will have to figure something else out while we are over there.”

“And the kids?”

“I kissed Alex before I left, and Henry knows – and is unsurprised by your decision – so he is on board with what I think he referred to as Operation Regina Squared. I do think he came up with better names when he was younger.”

“I don’t know, I kind of like it. Two Reginas isn’t a bad thing in my book.”

“Yes well I’m still looking forward to meeting her and explaining that I’m the only Regina you will ever kiss from now on.”

“Please don’t embarrass me,” Emma said.

Regina let go of her hand and stood up. “I make no promises in that regard. You should be happy that I’m even considering speaking to her and not taking a more drastic approach to teach her to keep her lips and hands on off of other people’s wives.”

Emma stood as well, “For the hundredth time, I thought she was you.”

“I will make you a deal then,” Regina said. “I won’t say a word to her about it, if, and only if when I meet her I find that she is so much like me that I believe you couldn’t have told the difference between us.”

“That is so not fair.”

“How so?”

“Come on, I thought she was younger you, a younger you who I was trying to woo because I thought younger me screwed everything up. I was working on charming someone who didn’t actually like me, well young me at the time. You should be lucky I didn’t sleep with her.”   
The moment it was out of her mouth, Emma knew that was the wrong thing to say as her Regina crossed her arms in front of her.

“And just how close did you get to having sex with her?”

“Not close at all,” Emma said quickly. 

“Good,” Regina said. “Now let’s go. I’m eager to have this over with and return to our family.”

“Me too.”

Regina began walking toward the portal and then stopped, looking over her shoulder. “And don’t think that if I decide there is no reason to have words with my other self that I won’t be speaking to your other self. That woman is clearly not like you because she is an idiot.”

“Hey you call me an idiot too.”

“Yes, but you are mine and at least smart enough not to have carried on with that pirate for very long. I’m beginning to think this other Emma must be mentally ill.”

She turned and again strode toward Gold.

“There is no way I get out of this without you embarrassing me, is there?” Emma called out.   
  
_ NOTE: next chapter we flash back to how present day Regina ended up in the future timeline _


	53. Chapter 53

**In the present**

Regina was nervous when she went to pick up this other future Emma. She hadn't liked the way she and the Emma of this time had left things. It just seemed like they were destined to never see eye to eye on anything.

She hadn't slept well that night – spending a lot of time after the Emmas had left lying in bed and thinking about how her future was supposed to play out. Emma and Killian would be together and she would be alone. Yes, she would have Henry, but she would never have anyone else to share her life with.

When she had put herself in exile in the aftermath of Marion's return these were the kinds of thoughts that had plagued her mind. Sadness that taken a hold of her because she knew she had lost her last chance at a happy ending when she lost Robin.

Then that other Emma had come here and made her think that there was this whole other possibility for her and now that too had been shattered.

She was determined that this time she wouldn't let the sadness consume her.

No, she needed to remain focused on her plan. This other Emma was trying to manipulate her and Regina was going to have to let her or at least make her think she was succeeding in order to get the information she needed.

Her Emma may think she was being foolish but she would not stop until she returned that other Emma to her own life where she had her wife and her children.

To do that she was going to have use the charm and the manipulative skills she had honed as queen.

Once she was parked outside of Emma's place she sent a text to let her know she was there and a couple of minutes later that other Emma was getting into her car.

"Hi," Emma said smiling at her.

"Hello," Regina said, giving her a half smile and then starting to drive.

"I want to apologize for last night," Emma said. "I shouldn't have kissed you like I did. I knew you thought I was that other Emma and I shouldn't have taken advantage of that. So, I'm sorry,"

"No, you shouldn't have, but I do appreciate the apology," she replied.

"Where are we going anyway, this isn't the way to your house?"

"It is not. Henry is at the house and I don't want him involved. I hope you can understand that."

"Yeah, I get it."

"Good. So, is what that other you said true, do you and Henry not have a relationship in your timeline?"

She noticed Emma looked out the passenger side window for a bit before answering. "No, not really, although we have been working on it a bit more lately," Emma said. "It's all my fault, so the fact he is even letting me speak to him now is a big step."

"I'm sorry it is like that for you. I know when Henry first left to go find you, well you know what I mean, that he and I were not in the best of places and it took a while for us to build our relationship back up. I guess I would say, don't give up and be patient, he will come around."

"I don't know that it will ever be rebuilt. I killed his mom."

"No, you didn't. And I would thank you not to say such things. The only reason she is dead is because of what Killian and Gold did. It wouldn't have mattered if you had never taken custody of Henry, Gold would not have stopped in his plan. He would have killed your Regina regardless."

Even though she was driving, she reached over and lightly touched Emma's leg. "You aren't responsible for her death."

Emma looked down at her hand and then gave her another smile. "My counterpart here is a fool, you know that right?"

"Oh believe me, I do."

They continued to drive to the destination Regina had chosen for phase one of her plan.

"What are we doing here?" Emma asked as she got out of the car.

"I felt like going for a ride," Regina said taking in the Storybrooke Stables. "Plus going out on the trails will afford us some privacy to talk. I'm sure Miss Swan would object as she hardly wants you being seen around town, but that is her problem not mine."

"Ok, I'm game, but you should know I've never been on a horse before."

"Well then, it looks like I have turned the tables on you and get to take advantage of you this time around," she said giving Emma a bigger smile. When she got a full smile in return Regina knew that she could do this. This Emma was a lot easier to flirt with.

Once the stablehands got to two horses saddled up for them, Regina at first demonstrated how to get up in the saddle. Then she dismounted and helped Emma do it on her own, taken the opportunity to place her hand on Emma's behind to help prop her up. Regina didn't look for a reaction, instead returned to her own horse, confident that the move had the desired affect.

After giving her some more tips on riding, they headed out at an easy pace. When they reached the path that ran through the forest Emma spoke.

"Have you and Emma ever done this, gone riding together?"

"No," Regina said. "I hope you don't mind that I dragged you out here."

"Not at all," Emma said.

They continued to ride for a while, Regina speaking of the enjoyment she used to have in riding back home in the Enchanted Forest when she was younger. She kept the pace slow since Emma had never ridden before and to give them more time to talk. They had been riding for about 30 minutes when Regina had them stop and dismount.

"We will walk for a bit," she said, taking the reins and leading the horse. "It won't be good for you to ride too long having not done it before. Plus, it would cause you to have some soreness in your butt and thigh area."

"Do you come out here often?"

"Not often, but it is something I have done more recently," Regina said. "I used to avoid this place because of how it reminded me of Daniel. I took Henry out here a couple of times as a kid, but I realized I was thinking more of Daniel than of Henry so I stopped. But I decided I shouldn't stop doing something I love because of my fear of the past."

"You are an amazing woman. I wish I had seen it sooner than I did," Emma said, and then she looked away as if embarrassed that she said it out loud.

"Thank you," Regina said. "I'm sure your Regina was an amazing person. She thought you were special too."

"I doubt she thought that highly of me at the end."

"You are wrong about that," she said. "She had faith in you, even up to the end."

"That is nice of you to say."

"I'm not saying it to be nice. I'm saying it because it is the truth. Did you get to speak with the other future Emma much? Did she tell you that I used a potion to let my mind move forward in time and cohabitate with your Regina for a while?"

"We didn't talk a whole lot, no, but yeah, she told me about that. I guess you were there when she got killed."

"I was but I was also there for hours before it happened. I was there when your mother stopped by."

Emma made a little snorting noise. "I still can't believe you two were being all Bffs behind my back like that. When I found out she had been there that day I was so mad at her. I used to think if maybe I had known before then that she was visiting you like that, then maybe she could have been like a go between for us and we could have worked things out."

"Given the time you would have worked things out with or without your mom's help," Regina said. "You see that letter you mentioned, the incomplete one, I was in her mind when she was writing it. I know what it was that she was going to write before she got interrupted."

Emma stopped. "You know?"

Regina nodded and then watched as Emma reached into her back pocket and handed her a folded-up piece of paper – it was the letter.

"I keep it with me all the time," Emma said. "I know it by heart."

Being careful with it, Regina opened it and read it out loud, even though she also knew it by heart after she had seen it just the once. "I need to tell you," Regina said looking up from the paper to see Emma staring at her with anticipation. "that I forgive you. I forgive you Emma for doing this to me because I know you did it out of a place of hurt. I understand this maybe better than anyone as I cursed an entire realm when I got hurt. I don't know if you will ever read these words. I hope you do. I hope I have the courage to give you this letter because you need to know that I forgive you. And if you have it in your heart to forgive me then maybe the what if that could have been you and I will one day come true. Love, Regina."

Emma turned from her but not before Regina saw the tears coming out of her eyes. She didn't feel bad about using these words to affect the other woman – somehow it felt right to tell them to her regardless of her own motives. That letter had been meant for her after all.

When Emma finally composed herself she faced Regina once more and then closed the distance between them and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered in her ear.

"You're welcome," Regina said when Emma moved back. "She wrote those words for you. You deserve to know what she was trying to communicate to you."

"I don't know if it was the letter or what, but after she was gone, I used to think about all these what if scenarios. I'd make up these stories in my head that she and I got married and then I would think about stupid things like if she was the kind of person that wore socks to bed when she was sleeping or if we went to Vegas would she play roulette or want to just watch the horse races. I knew her, but you know I didn't really know all those things that you learn about a person when you are with them for a long time."

"I'm sorry that you didn't get that chance."

"I'm sorry you won't get that chance with your Emma."

Regina was a little taken aback by this statement.

"Yes, well we may have lost our chances, but that other Emma, we still have a chance to get her back to her family and her happy ending. That is why I need to get to your time so I can help get her back to hers. And I want you to help me do this. You and I can give her the happy ending that we never got."

She reached out and took Emma's hand in hers. "Can you do that with me?"

Emma didn't say anything, just looked down at their hands and then nodded yes.

"Good," Regina said. "Then we have a lot to talk about."

Regina was about to let go of her hand and resume walking but Emma gripped her a little tighter. "We do this, it should just be you and me. The other me, the one from here, she wouldn't understand. It should just be us."

"You're right, it should be us."

Emma was antsy. Ever since her future counterpart left with Regina she had been unable to concentrate on anything. She had gone into work, hoping to lose herself in her job, but she was unsuccessful. Sydney was giving her the silent treatment and frankly she didn't feel like speaking to him anyway.

In fact, she had taken a break after only being there an hour and had driven by Regina's place. When she didn't see her car there, she called Henry only to find out Regina hadn't been there since she left the house. She had to assure him that his mother was fine, despite her misgivings about that being truthful.

Next she drove to city hall and finally to the vault, but still no Regina. She stopped short of calling. Regina wanted to handle this her way so she had to trust that she could do that.

At least that is what she was trying to tell herself. The truth was she was still salty over Regina's comment this morning about them not being together.

She wasn't even sure what exactly she was bothered about except she was so sick and tired of people talking about destiny. Why was everyone so set on things being a certain way? Why did fate dictate so much of what people did?

Her phone rang and while she wished it was Regina, it was the hospital calling to tell her that Killian was awake. She let them know that she was on her way.

Emma walked into Hook's hospital room and shut the door behind her. He was propped up as if he had been waiting on her.

"Swan," he said. "I can explain."

She walked up to the bed but didn't take the seat next to it. Instead she crossed her arms in front of her and stared him down.

"Oh, you better be able to because you are facing some very serious charges."

"Look, I know how this must look to you but I promise, I was only doing this for you."

"For me? Under what twisted logic would you think that I would want you to kidnap Regina?"

"As long as the queen was roaming free, ain't none of us safe. After Robin left her for Marian, there was only one way this was headed and that was for the queen to take her revenge once more," he said. "I get it, you couldn't do anything about her because of Henry so I took that burden off of your shoulders. You didn't grow up in the Enchanted Forest so you don't know what she is capable of. She was going to try and destroy you and your family."

"And what made you think she was doing anything like that?"

Killian glanced away from her for a moment.

"No," Emma said. "Don't sit there and try and think of some answer. I want to know the truth about what the hell is going on. Now you said before that Gold was paying you to follow Regina, was that true?"

He shook his head no.

"Then why were you following her?"

"I can explain."  
"I'm giving you the opportunity to," Emma said, finally taking a seat. "But no more lies."

"Ok, ok," he said. "But this is probably going to sound a little crazy at first, but I'm asking you to believe me. I'm asking you to have faith in me. I love you and you love me, and I think when you hear me out you will understand. You see, I was contacted by a woman, a woman from the future named Alex who just happens to be our daughter. You and I we get married and we have a daughter."

He was smiling at her and all Emma could do was sit there and listen in horror as Killian related how Alex had contacted him using some book and told him to keep an eye on Regina, follow her around and keep her away from Emma as much as possible. She told him how in the future the Evil Queen Regina had taken her from her parents Killian and Emma but she had found a way to communicate with her father there in the past so he could help prevent it from happening. She had sent his ship to him and told him to wait until Sydney showed up with Regina and then to sail out to sea for a bit until another person would come to take her.

"See love, I was doing this to save our family from her. She took our daughter from us."

By this time Emma had already been up and pacing as she realized just how much power this Alex must really have to be able to manipulate others so easily in other timelines. Did she have any conscience, Emma wondered.

"Let's pretend for a moment any of this is true …"

"It is true," he interrupted. "She knew things about you and I."

Emma sighed, put her hands on her hips and looked at the ceiling for a moment before staring him down. "Why wouldn't you come to me immediately about it then?"

"I wanted to, but she said I shouldn't. She said that at this time you had been feeling guilty about bringing Marian back that you were likely to give Regina the benefit of the doubt and confront her which would probably just speed up Regina's plan."

"Oh, she's good," Emma said. "Has an answer for everything I bet."

"Well she is from the future. This is all the past to her so of course she would know things. I'm telling you Swan, this is our daughter, our Alex and we have to keep her safe from Regina."

"First of all, Alex isn't our daughter," Emma said.

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true," Hook said. "I'm not lying."

"I know you aren't lying but that is only because you believe it to be true. It doesn't make it true. This Alex, she's not our daughter. She isn't even in our timeline. She played you Killian. She used you to try and get what she wanted," Emma said. "Damn it, if you had just come to me and told me she had been communicating with you then I could have told you that this was nothing more than a lie."  
"It's not a lie. You and I are going to get married next year and the year after that we will have Alex. You'll see."

"No, I won't," Emma said. "Listen to me, you and I aren't ever getting married and we aren't having any children. This Alex is a creature of magic from a future timeline that isn't ours. In that timeline she was created using Regina's soul—a soul you helped Gold get when you killed her in exchange for your stupid boat. All of this was because your stupid future self was being selfish in wanting to get what you wanted. That is what you are – a selfish wannabe hero. Hell you even attacked future me on the ship."

"That was future you?"

"Yes. She came back from that future timeline which is how she knew you had Regina there. She was sent by Alex to collect Regina from you but she decided not to and instead she helped me rescue her from you and Sydney. She said you came at her with your sword …"

"I did not," Hook said. "She shot me. I wasn't even sure what was going on when there were two of you so I tried to talk to her. She started saying stuff about me murdering Regina. I tried to tell her that Regina was alive below decks but she just kept saying I had to pay for killing her and she shot me. I swear. I couldn't hurt you."

Emma took a step back. Nothing about what he was saying was registering as a lie to her. Her gift wasn't perfect but still, she believed him, which meant Regina was alone with a psychopath.

"Damn it," she swore as she turned to leave even as Killian yelled out her name. Her phone was dialing Regina even before the door to the hospital room shut behind her.

Of course there was no answer. She was getting really tired of this.

"Regina, I need you to call …"

She wasn't even done before her phone was ringing again and it was Regina so she switched over.

"Where are you?" Emma said immediately.

"I'm at your place, where are you?"

"Are you alone?"

"No."

"Go into my room a moment."

Emma waited until she heard her bedroom door close.

"Now where are you?" Regina said.

"At the hospital. Hook woke up. Regina, we have a problem with that other me. She shot him."

"We knew this."

"Yes, but she said he attacked her. He didn't. She shot him without provocation."

"And we are taking his word on this?"

"No. I'm taking his word on this. I'm asking you for once to believe me."

There was a pause.

"Ok."  
"Really?"

She could practically see Regina rolling her eyes as she said, "yes really. We already know truth is handled rather loosely by her."

"Well I really don't think you should be alone with her so I'm on my way over."

"Good, it was why I was calling you. She's ready to start talking about everything she knows about this future time and Alex."

"Really?"

"Yes, really, why do you keep saying that?"

"I don't know. I mean you spend one afternoon with her and she is ready to spill her guts. Forgive me if I'm a little skeptical. Oh and we did just get done talking about how she is a liar."

"Then how about this – how about this time, you believe me."

Emma was about to say that wasn't the issue, but she bit her tongue. She had effectively been painted into a corner by asking Regina to trust her.

"Ok," she said, trying to keep the groan out of her voice. "We'll go with your play for now. I will be there in a few minutes."

As soon as she got into her car she reached under the seat and pulled out the lockbox that she kept her gun in and she made sure it was fully loaded. She was done taking chances.

As she started the car, she got a text message that made her pause.


	54. Chapter 54

When Regina came out of the bedroom the other Emma was there leaning against the wall.

"Let me guess, she doesn't trust me."

"I think both she and I are a little tired of feeling like we are pawns in this whole affair."

"I don't understand why we are here exactly. You said we could do this together, just you and I."

"We will," Regina said. "But I want you to think for one moment what you would do if you suspected something was going on behind your back. Now put yourself in this Emma's shoes and tell me what you would do if you thought for a second that me and your future counterpart were planning something."

"I would probably do everything to find out what it was and stop you."

"See, you two aren't that different after all," Regina said. "So the only way for us to do this, is for this Emma to think we are at least including her in the discussions about this future time. Then you and her and continue to try and talk me out of my plan to go there and she will think you and her are on the same side."

Future Emma seemed to consider this before nodding yes.

In less than 10 minutes the Emma of this time showed up to her own apartment. She gave her counterpart a look before turning to Regina and crossing her arms.

"So why are we all here?"

"I told you, this Emma is going to tell us what she knows about Alex."

"And what is the point of that? You aren't going to that future time."

"At least we still agree on that," future Emma said. "But I do have to go back there and without having a Regina there who might be able to help tell me how to defeat Alex, I thought I would pick her brain. I'm probably only going to get one shot at this."

"Alright. As long as you are the only one going back to the future, then I will do whatever I can to help," Emma said.

"Why don't we all take a seat?" Regina said.

She ended up sitting on the couch with future Emma, while present Emma sat in a chair.

"Things were different in town after Belle's death," future Emma said. "Gold was almost never seen. When he was, people gave him a wide berth because he would mostly be walking around mumbling. Alex was being cared for by a cadre of caretakers including my mother. After that first incident at her place, I never went there again unless I was sure Alex wasn't there."

"Then something happened. Ruby was watching her and put her to bed one night and the next day Ruby freaks out when she finds that Alex has grown into a child – an older child. Like six or seven maybe. She acts like nothing is wrong, but Ruby well Ruby rushes her to the hospital like Whale can do something for her."

"He declares her perfectly healthy, all the while they are trying to figure out what to do with her. My dad, he went to go see Gold, tell him what happened. It wasn't like they hadn't tried before, you know to talk to him, but yeah those times didn't go well. This time he looked at my dad and just said, 'come back when she is an adult.'"

"Ok, wait," Emma said, raising her hand. "I have a question or a million of them – Did you ever speak up again about Alex?"

Future Emma cocked her head to the side. "And what good do you think that would have done? I tried before and I got treated like a crazy person."

"Yes, but now they had to notice something was wrong with this kid."

"Of course they did," future Emma said. "You see, when she was discharged from the hospital, she asked Ruby to take her to the library. At first Ruby thought it was because she wanted to see where Belle died, so clearly she was reluctant about doing that. Finally she gave in and took her there and she just goes in there and starts taking books off the shelves and reading them. She started off with like basic baby books and by the end of the day she was reading at like a third or fourth grade level."

"My turn," Regina said. "Where is the Blue Fairy in all of this? Surely she noticed something was off about this girl."

"She did yes, in fact she led the whole you faked your own death and you were really Alex group."

Regina shook her head. "She never did like me."

"In her defense, Alex does look like you."

"How so?"

"She's like you with my blonde hair, but she doesn't have your mannerisms, or that scar above your lip and her eyes, while sort of the same color as yours, they don't really look like human eyes. It's hard to explain, but it's like they are dead or something. When I first saw adult her, I thought, I don't know that it was you but one interaction with her was enough for me to know it wasn't."

Regina saw the sad expression cross her features. This Emma knew loss in a way that reminded her of herself.

"Anyway, after that she started to obsessively read. She was a quiet child but occasionally she would ask whoever her caretaker was at the time about something she read. It's like she could read and understand some things, but others she couldn't. Like death. She asked very uncomfortable questions, which I got to find out first hand."

"I was at the station one night, late, because I didn't feel like going home and I thought I heard the outside door open so I went out to look, but no one was there outside of the night dispatcher. When I returned to my office however, there she was sitting in the chair in front of my desk, holding a book."

"Hi mommy," she said in her child's voice.

Emma was stuck in the doorway as she saw this little girl there staring at her.

"Come in," she said. "Sit down."

She hesitated but then walked in, the door shut behind her immediately at the wave of the girl's hand and she turned to look at it before carefully moving around the desk to take a seat.

"Regina," Emma said. "Are you in there?"

Alex cocked her head in a way that reminded Emma not of Regina but of herself. "Is she my other mom?" Alex asked.

She then got out of her seat, moved closer to the desk and put a book up on it. Emma didn't reach for it until Alex had taken her seat again. It wasn't any book Emma recognized, but then again it appeared to be a child's book about families.

"I want that," Alex said. "A family."

Emma dropped the book back onto the desk. "What are you doing here?"

Alex pointed at the book.

"I'm not your mom," Emma said. "Your parents are Mr. Gold and … and Belle was your mother."

"No," she said simply. "You are my mom, but I don't … where is Regina?"

Emma stood up and backed away, all the way up to the wall. "I'll um call a deputy and get them to take you back to Ruby's."

"I don't want to go there. She isn't my mom either. I want to go home with you."

Emma rushed over to the door, but as she tried to open it, it wouldn't so she began beating on it.

"Mommy."  
She turned not at the voice but at the tug on her pants.

"I want to go home. I want us to be a family. Why don't you want that too? You, me and mommy Regina."

"She's dead," Emma said. "Regina is dead."

This caused Alex to back up.

"I don't understand," she finally said.

"Regina died. She was murdered, killed in order to … to create you."

Again Alex backed up a step and then with a wave of her hand, she disappeared just like Regina used to do.

"She was asking about Regina that early on?" present Emma asked.

"Yeah. Shocked me to say the least. I mean I don't even know how she knew at that age that Regina was anyone connected to her," future Emma replied.

"She shouldn't have had that kind of power," Regina said. "Not at that age. Maybe as a young teen, but not before that. Also, who was teaching her magic to begin with?"

"No one. That is why many people think she is you."

"Is it possible that she had that other Regina's memories?" Emma asked.

Future Emma shrugged. "If she did, she never used them in a way that I would even have a hint that she did. Like I said she is like you but not like you. I think learning you were dead and that it had something to with creating her, that it was a shock to her. After that she sort of shut everyone out - not that she was close or friendly with anyone but this time she just stopped talking entirely and spent all her time reading. She wasn't interested in doing anything that normal kids do."

Regina's phone rang, startling all of them. She looked over at Emma. "It's Henry, I should take this."

She answered it, while stepping out of the apartment. The two Emmas remained quiet at first and then future Emma stood and walked around a bit, looking at the apartment.

"This is your fault," she said finally.

"Excuse me?" Emma said standing up.

"Alex targeted Regina because of you, because you chose to be with that pirate instead of her. She'd be safe. Do you even care about that?"

"Hey, back off," Emma said. "If anyone here is to blame it's you. You are the one who created this mess in your own timeline. Don't you turn the guilt you feel over how you treated your Regina over on me. None of this would be happening if it weren't for your decisions."

She had taken several steps toward her other self to the point where they were rather close.

"You have no idea what I've had to live through," future Emma said, pointing her finger at her. "You have no idea what it is like to be me in a world without her."

"Maybe you wouldn't have had to know that if you had treated your Regina better," Emma said. "Did you really think you could sleep with a woman like Regina, and then turn around and disrespect her like she was some cheap whore? Why? Why would you do what you did? I was in your mind for 12 hours and I still didn't understand, what were you so afraid of?"

"Everything," Future Emma yelled. "I was afraid of everything. Of it not working with her, of it working with her. Of what my parents would say, what Henry would say. I finally had a life, a home, a family, everything I had always wanted and I couldn't risk it. Don't stand there and judge me when you know you would have done the same thing. You are doing the same thing. That other Emma she primed Regina so well for you that you don't even have to work to have that. Yet you are doing nothing. Hell you will probably go back to Hook after all of this because that's the easy thing for you to do."

Emma got right up in her face. "Better that than sleep with Regina and …"

"That's enough."

Both women turned to see Regina standing there in the doorway. Emma moved closer to the door. "Regina, I wasn't saying …"

"Here, your son wants to speak to you," Regina said handing her the phone. Emma took it and walked out to speak to Henry but not before turning and seeing the smug look on her future self's face.

…

"Sorry about that," future Emma said once the other Emma closed the door behind her. "She and I shouldn't have been arguing."

"It's fine."

"No, it's not fine," she said, coming closer and putting her hand on Regina's arm. "You've spent your whole life being criticized by people like your mom, hated by people like my mom and in general going through life without someone who is just willing to be the one to have your back. I want you to know that I'm going to be that person from now on."

"I … "

Before Regina could say anything Emma was kissing her.

When she pulled back, "You deserve better than her," future Emma said.

Regina found her voice appeared to be stuck as she wasn't sure what to say faced with the intensity that this future Emma was putting off.

"I can't replace her," Regina said, making Emma back off. "I'm sorry you lost her, but I can't replace her."

"I know," future Emma said, taking another step back and refusing to look at Regina. "Logically, I know you can't and I wouldn't want to replace her. But I guess I was hoping that in coming here I could save you when I couldn't save her. And I'm not just talking about Alex, but from this existence where you end up alone. I'm not saying it's not complicated and probably a little crazy but I'm asking you not to totally give up on the idea that you don't have to be alone."

Regina knew she should make it clear to this Emma that there was no future for the two of them, but at the same time she needed this Emma to trust her so she could get the information she needed.

If she chose to believe her Emma and Hook then this Emma had shot him without provocation. It meant she was dealing with someone dangerous. But she too could be dangerous when she chose to be.

"I can't make any promises," she said. "But I'm willing to not give up. I don't want a life where I'm alone."

In return she got another beaming smile from the blonde. The noise of the door opening brought their attention back to present day Emma who handed Regina's phone back to her without word.

"Perhaps we should return to our talk," Regina suggested and they all took their seats once more but there was a palpable tension in the room.

"Like I said, when she learned my Regina was dead, Alex shut herself off. All she wanted to do was learn, mostly through books but she did ask questions occasionally," future Emma said. "I know because she asked my mom to tell her about Regina. Needless to say my mom was taken aback by it because as far as she knew there was no way this little girl could know who Regina was. My mom also didn't see any harm in telling her about Regina either."

"Of course she saw no harm in it," Regina said. "Give your mom a chance to talk and she certainly isn't going to turn it down."

"Yeah well, she was dealing with a little girl so she didn't exactly tell the truth either. She made up some sort of fairy tale story to tell her about the princess Regina who lost her love and was cursed into a land without magic."

"What?" Regina said.

"Get's better," future Emma said. "So the princes Regina is trapped in this land without magic and the only way to save her is by the Savior, me who was also cursed into this land, coming to the town and bringing back the magic. And then some other stuff happened that to be honest I wasn't no longer paying attention to when she told me all of this, and then the whole town lived happily ever after."

"She's an idiot. It doesn't matter what realm she is in, she's an idiot."

"She means well," future Emma said. "Plus Alex didn't believe her anyway. I actually thought it was kind of sweet of her to give your story a positive spin."

"Regina gave it a positive spin on her own," present Emma said. "She's come a long way from who she used to be."

"I agree," future Emma said. "Too bad some people don't see that until it's too late."

Regina found she was now in the middle of an uncomfortable staring contest between the two Emmas, so she reached over and put her hand on future Emma's knee. "Why don't you tell us about your interactions with her?"

Future Emma turned from the stare down to put her attention once again on Regina. "There really weren't many there in the beginning. I was trying to avoid her every chance I got and she didn't seek me out again until she had her next growth spurt into a teenager. It happened much like it has before, she had gone to sleep and woke up older. It was my mom though who immediately freaked out upon seeing her because now she looked like a teenage you or so mom said."

"I was still a teen when I met your mother so she would be the one to know," Regina said.

"Wait," present Emma said. "I thought you got married to her father not that long after meeting my mom."

"I did," Regina said, seeing no reason to elaborate, but Emma apparently wasn't ready to let it go.

"You married him when you were a teenager still," she said, not really asking a question, but obviously thinking it through. "What kind of messed up world allows that to happen?"

"He was king and I didn't have a choice," Regina said, hoping this would end the conversation. She had never really spoken to anyone about all of that, and she was unsurprised that even after all of this time that Emma had no real clue as to what had happened to her that made her choose to become the Evil Queen.

"I don't care if he was king of not, that's wrong on so many levels."

"Perhaps that is an opinion you should keep to yourself," Regina said. "I doubt your mother would want to hear you speak ill of your grandfather."

Emma was about to say something else but she saw her future counterpart subtly shake her head no and Emma saw that Regina had fallen silent.

"What happened when you did see teenage Alex?" Emma asked future Emma, hoping that would steer the conversation back on track and erase the expression of sadness that Regina now had.

"This time she came to my place. She was waiting for me when I got home from work one night. This wasn't the first time I had seen her in this form, I just hadn't interacted with her before now. She was sitting on my couch waiting patiently for me and when I finally asked her what she was doing there, I realized she knew a lot more about things."

_"I don't understand," she said. "I don't understand why she had to die for me to be here."_

_The last thing Emma wanted to do was have a conversation about this topic with her but she decided maybe it was time to talk to her. Right now, she looked like an insecure, scared child more even than when she was an actual child._

_"I don't really know either," Emma said. "All I know is she die and now you are here."_

_"But you killed the man who did this to her," Alex said. "This pirate."_

_"I didn't kill him because of that. It was self-defense. He was trying to hurt you."_

_"You should have killed him for killing her."_

_Emma sighed. "That's not how things work. You don't go around killing people."_

_"Why not? He killed her so it's only right he die."_

_"No," Emma said. "How do you even know he killed her?"_

_"I went to see that man who claimed he was my father," she said dismissively. "I knew he was not almost from the very beginning just as I knew Belle was not my mother. But he had answers that I needed about Regina. People here don't speak well of her, except for Henry."_

_"You've spoken to Henry?"_

_She nodded. "Not a lot, but yes. I went to see where she was buried and he was there. He loved her very much."_

_Emma resisted the urge to say he wasn't the only one, but thought better of it. She still had no idea why this girl was here or what she wanted._

_"You are my mom," Alex said. "Those other people, they took me from you and tried to make me their own."_

_"Not Belle," Emma interrupted. "Belle was innocent. She didn't know you weren't her child. She didn't deserve to die."_

_Alex looked down at her feet. "I know," she said and Emma could hear the remorse in her voice. "I didn't … I didn't know, I didn't understand back then. But I'm better now. I've learned a lot in a short amount of time. I would learn more if I had my mother."_

_Emma back away from her. "Look, I know that I gave birth to you but …"_

_"I wasn't talking about you. I'm talking about Regina. I need her."_

_"She's dead."_

_"Then we will have to bring her back."_

"She wanted to bring me back?" Regina asked.

"Yes," future Emma said. "I was shocked at first too."

"Did she give you any idea how she was planning on doing that?"

"She didn't know. She was hoping I could actually give her an idea about that," Emma said.

"And did you?" present Emma asked.

"Of course not. I wouldn't even know where to begin to know something like that," future Emma said. "I told her that as well and she just sort of shrugged, got up and started to walk out my place. When she got to the door she turned and said, 'I'm sure we can come up with something.'"

"The book, she must have found the book at some point," Regina said more to herself than to the other women. "The question is why didn't she use the spell in it that could resurrect a person. I mean if she had done it then she would have had that Regina back, or at least a version of her. Wait, you said she resurrected Neal, what do you know about how she did it?"

"Not much," future Emma admitted. "Most of what I know is after the fact, and after I was exiled from Storybrooke. All I really know is she did it, she brought him back but he was him, but not him. He was like this snarling beast."

Regina thought back to Al'Hadinn's wife and how she was something less than human.

The spell wouldn't work if the person wasn't a soul match to the other. Clearly, Alex had no such connection with Neal which is why it didn't work. But had Alex learned from that mistake – is that why she hadn't tried to resurrect that other Regina. Or had she tried?

That thought bothered her more than Neal. What if Alex had tried to resurrect her other self and she had ended up like that as well.

She had been giving a lot of thought to that other Regina and this Alex. It had taken her soul to be able to create Alex, so did that other Regina's soul go to wherever souls went to rest. Was it at peace? Or did some of still linger on inside of Alex?

"Regina?"

She turned her attention back to the Emmas, unsure of which one had said her name.

"How did you end up in exile?" Regina asked future Emma.

"She beat me," Emma said simply. "I got tired of all of it, so I went to confront her and we battled – and her magic made mine look like I was a child. She defeated me out there in the middle of the street and declared that Storybrooke was her town now and that as long as I was gone, she would not harm anyone there. I didn't have any choice, so I left."

"Why did you come back?" Emma asked. "We saw in the videos that you found some spell to time travel."

Emma nodded. "Yeah it was something that my Regina figured out."

"How?" Regina asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I have no idea how to go about a spell like that. How did she figure it out?"

This time Emma shrugged. "I don't know. It was just in one of the spellbooks that Henry got for me. But I needed to be in Storybrooke to enact the spell so I returned."

"But you never got the chance to do the spell," Emma said. "Obviously that other Emma was the one who came back here to this time, so why don't you explain how that all went down."

"What is your problem?" future Emma shot back.

"My problem is that you have an answer for everything," Emma said. "and I don't know if we should trust those answers."

"How about I don't care if you trust my answers? I'm not here for you, I'm here for her."

"Oh, you have made that abundantly clear," Emma said. "And if you think that I'm going to let you near her, you are crazier than you showed yourself to be in those videos."

Both Emmas got to their feet, facing off against each other. Regina had no choice but to get between them.

"Stop this," Regina said.

"Why are we even sitting here listening to this?" Emma said. "You can't believe anything she says."

"We need her," Regina said.

"No, we don't. We don't even need to be involved in this bullshit," Emma said. "That future, it isn't our timeline. She is the one that messed up her own life, so let her fix it."

Regina swung around her attention solely to present day Emma. "And what about that other Emma?"

"Again, not our problem,"

"I told you, I'm not going to let her rot in that other timeline. I will not rest until she is reunited with her family," Regina said.

Emma grabbed Regina's arm. "You can't risk your own life for her. What about Henry? What if something happened to you?"

"Apparently, he will be just fine with you and husband, Killian," Regina said.

Emma let go of her and turned and left the room, going back to her room and shutting the door.

"Hey," future Emma said, lightly touching Regina's shoulder. "We don't need her."

Regina exhaled. "No, we don't. Let's go."

….

Emma waited until they left before coming out of her room. Taking a seat on her couch she looked down at the text message she had received earlier from Regina, right after they had talked.

"I need you to pick a fight with the other Emma in front of me," it had said.

"Why?" Emma had responded.

"She needs to think you and I are at odds and that I need her and not you. She has to trust me."

Emma didn't like this idea, but she didn't argue with Regina either. Regina obviously had a plan and Emma decided she needed to trust Regina to make the right call.

Now she hoped she was right.

Waiting a few more minutes she decided she had given them enough of a head start.

Her last text message to Regina was at the front of her mind.

"Ok, but I'm going to watch your back."


	55. Chapter 55

Regina and the other Emma returned to the mansion, and while Regina was happy to be back in the confines of her home, she was still worried about her next steps. This was a dangerous game she was playing. If this Emma suspected they were trying to play her then it could turn deadly.

Even in the short amount of time she had been around this Emma, she could tell she was obsessed and that made her dangerous.

"What should we do now?" Emma asked.

"I don't know about you, but I am hungry," Regina said.

"I could always go for some food," Emma said. "Is um, is Henry going to be back?"

Regina turned from her, giving herself time to think of an answer. "He is still with his grandparents," she said. "I think it's best not to involve him as much as possible, don't you think?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Feel free to make yourself at home while I prepare some food."

"Oh," Emma said. "I can help."

Regina went into the kitchen with Emma right on her heels.

"I'm sorry for how that other Emma was," future Emma said.

"You don't have to apologize for her."

"Yes, I do," she responded with a certainty that surprised Regina.

Despite Emma's offer to help, she made the other woman sit down so she could work to make some food.

"Can you tell me how it was that the other future Emma ended up back here?" Regina asked.

"Not much to the story. I returned to Storybrooke, intent on using the spell at the time portal. I didn't even stop to see Henry or my parents, I just went straight to Gold's shop."

"The spell, it requires dark magic?"

"Yes. Not just dark magic though, the Dark One's magic."

"And you were prepared to become the Dark One?"

"Prepared no. I wasn't even sure I could do it, but I knew I had to. I thought that if I could go back, I could fix it all," future Emma said. "I could stop Regina from being killed, I could stop myself from being an asshole to her. I could change it all. Alex would never even come into being so Storybrooke would be safe. But when I got to the Gold's shop, there she was."

"How did she know?" Regina asked.

Emma just shrugged. "I didn't fare any better against her this time and then I was her prisoner. She kept me in the basement level of the library."

"Did she harm you in anyway?"

"No," Emma said. "She kept me locked in a room, gave me books to read if I felt like it and brought me food and drinks. And she would come down to talk. I think she is very lonely."

Regina thought of her own upbringing and how she too often felt alone as a child and if she was being honest for most of her adult life until Henry came into it. She wondered how much of Alex's loneliness was because of her. How connected was she – or at least her other self – to this mysterious entity?

"What kinds of things did she talk about with you?"

"Mostly you. I mean there was other stuff. She reads all the time but she doesn't have any real world knowledge so sometimes she would ask me to explain things to her."

"What kinds of things, can you give me an example?"

Emma thought about it a moment. "Family," Emma said. "She doesn't really understand what family means. She has read all these books and absorbed all this knowledge but she still doesn't understand concepts. At first she took things very literal. For instance, if she read a book that described a family as a husband and wife and two children, that is what she believed family was. Then she would get confused when she would read something else and in that family maybe the dad cheats on the mom or vice versa so she thought that it what relationships were – where you just cheated on your spouse. Talking to her, listening to her isn't easy because she has read so much she tends to jump from topic to topic."

"Does she think that you and I and her are family?"

"Yes, but she is more interested in you as her mother than me."

"So that is how she sees me then as her mother?"

"I think it's a little more complicated than that, but yeah, she has talked about you teaching her things."

Regina pondered this for several moments. This Alex had to know that Regina wasn't really her mother, that the Regina who was sort of her mother was dead. Why all the interest in her? She had been trying to figure this out. Why go through all of this trouble for her? There had to be a reason and she needed to know if this Emma knew what it was so that she could be prepared when she finally came face to face with Alex.

Of this she was certain – that she and Alex would end up face to face. Whether that meeting was a battle or a conversation, she didn't know, although from all that had happened so far she would almost bet on a battle.

"I'm not sure what she thinks I can teach her that she hasn't already learned," Regina said, leaving it open ended to see if Emma would offer anything up.

When she didn't, and when Regina was finishing putting the casserole she made in the oven, she motioned for Emma to follow her out of the kitchen. They ended up in the study, each taking a seat and a drink.

"How did that other Emma end up in your timeline?"

"I don't know specifics, only that Alex brought her there somehow. I gathered that her time and my time are in sync – both a future time from this one. I think maybe that is why she could do it because our times were the same but I'm not really sure. She was talking a lot about time continuity but most of it was way over my head," Emma said. "Anyway, she brings that Emma there and uses the videos I had made to convince that this was her world but the timeline got messed up. It was why she was willing to do what she did – become the Dark One to travel back here to save you."

"I still can't believe she did that. Seeing that dagger with her name on it was surreal."

"I'm not surprised she did it," Emma said. "I was going to do the same thing, although for different reasons. She thought it was the only way to get back to her timeline, to her wife, her Henry, and her daughter."

Regina could see sadness creeping in on Emma's features. She imagined that this Emma had thought a lot about that other Emma's life and perhaps what could have been in her own life if she had made different decisions.

It wasn't unlike how she used to think about how her life would be different if Daniel hadn't died. Her hand unconsciously went up and felt for his ring which was once again on a chain around her neck. When future Emma had given it to her she had considered just locking it away somewhere, but found she couldn't. After years of having it close to her heart it felt good to have it back there once more.

"Do you think there is a world out there where you and I are together without any drama?" Regina asked her.

A small smile appeared on Emma's face. "You and I without drama, no," she laughed. "I mean if there is, it must be the most boring place in all the universe."

"Yes, I suppose it would be," Regina replied. "Do you mind if I ask you something about what you experienced when your Regina's soul was inside you?"

"No, go ahead."

"Once you knew it was her, knew it was really her, did it bring you peace in anyway?"

Emma took her time before answering. "Yes and no. You watched the videos, right, so you know that I thought that it meant she was still alive or that she could be alive again, so in that sense, yes it brought me peace but it was a lie. It felt, I don't know how to describe it, but looking back, it felt ok. Like I thought that despite how it all went down that having her soul in me would hurt or something or feel unnatural and it didn't feel like that. It felt like it was ok for her soul to be there if that makes any sense."

"It does," Regina said. "I think Gold knew what he was doing when he put her soul inside you. I think he knew that you could sustain having your soul and her soul in you because those souls matched."

"You mean like soulmates?"

"Yes."

"I know that should probably make me happy, but it doesn't," Emma replied. "It just makes me think of all I lost."

"I know you were scared about pursuing anything with your Regina, and that her rejection of you was the catalyst for what happened afterward, but had you thought at all that your Regina was also scared of pursuing anything with you?"

"No," Emma answered quickly, so quickly that Regina looked at her, indicating she wanted an explanation. "I always thought of Regina as fearless. I mean here was this woman who didn't let things stop her. She cast a curse on an entire realm to get what she wanted. I didn't think fear was in her vocabulary. The only time I really saw her being scared was when Henry was taken to Neverland. She was scared for him. Even in the hospital, the day that she and Henry were in that wreck and I was being an ass, I saw a little bit of that fear – but not directed at me, fear that something could have happened to Henry. Henry was the person who she was scared to lose, and I knew it. I knew it when I made the decision to take him from her."

The regret Emma felt over her actions was evident to Regina. This woman was broken compared to the Emma of this time or even the other future Emma.

Regina didn't want to linger on the regret though.

"Henry wasn't the only thing that scared her," Regina said. "You did too, not you so much, but how she felt about you or was beginning to feel about you. When you lose love once, it makes you wary of trying again."

"Is that why you and the Emma of this time aren't together?"

The question caught her off guard and she hesitated before answering.

"No," she said. "You and your Regina have gotten farther than me and the Emma of this time have ever gotten. I can't fear losing something I don't have."

"But that other Emma, the other one from the future, you and her became close didn't you?"

Regina had not been expecting the conversation to turn around toward her. She needed to steer it back to that future time.

"Did you get to interact with that future Emma much, is that how you know that?"

Emma shrugged and avoided looking her right in the eye, which made Regina believe that any interaction they had, this Emma wasn't going to talk about it. Maybe she wouldn't talk unless Regina opened up first.

"That other Emma and I, yes we were closer than what I have been with the Emma of this time," Regina said. "But I think that was because the two Emma were so different from each other. I should have realized they weren't the same person just separated by years."

"So, you really have no interest in this Emma, the one here in your time?" Emma asked.

"I think this whole experience has shown me there is no future for me and her," Regina answered.

…

Emma sat in her car, parked down the street from the mansion, waiting for Regina to contact her. She hadn't felt comfortable with this hastily made plan on Regina's part.

Regina was trying to pull off a con on a woman who was clearly a con artist herself. She didn't trust this other Emma and she didn't want Regina even pretending to trust her because there was no way of telling what this Emma would do once she found out that Regina was playing her.

She was also sure that this other Emma was here for Regina only and that made her dangerous.

All she knew was that she couldn't let Regina get hurt – not again.

She thought about her life so far as it pertained to Regina. They had been enemies. They had been not friends exactly, but at least they had come to an understanding as to being Henry's parents. Then she had to mess things up by bringing back Marian.

Then she started to believe that maybe she was destined to be with Regina. Now they found out that wasn't even the truth. There were timelines upon timelines they were dealing with.

She thought back to her first meeting with Regina, not in Storybrooke but in Agrabah. At some point in the future she was going to go back in time in order to tell Regina to hide that book, to keep it safe because it would be needed in the future.

Why would she do that?

Why was the book needed? The book existed in that other timeline, they knew this because of the videos. So, the need for it must be in this timeline, but for what?

And then there was the kiss.

Why would she kiss Regina like that?

Clearly, she knew she was going to before she actually did it, so why did she do it?

Did she do it because she didn't want to screw with the timeline? Or did she do it because she wanted to do it?

But her and Regina weren't supposed to be together in this timeline. That is what that other Emma had said, and while she didn't trust her, Regina atleast seemed to believe that it was the case.

Yet, Emma couldn't believe in a future where she was with Hook either, not after all that had happened. Even if it hadn't happened, Emma still wondered if she and Hook would have stayed together. Would they have been a family?

What bothered her the most about that thought was that if he was willing to do what he had done, did that mean that was the kind of person he really was? If that were the case, then she couldn't see where they would have ever had a future together.

Why couldn't her life just be normal?

She looked down at her phone again, willing Regina to at least send her a text to let her know she was ok.

She didn't like being out here having to wait. She wanted to know what was going on inside. Another five minutes passed, which felt like five hours to her, and being unable to take it any longer, Emma got out of the car and approached the house.

Not exactly having a plan in mind, she snuck around the side yard hoping to at least find a window she could look in. She came around to what she knew was the kitchen area, and she paused under the window where the sink was – fairly secure in her knowledge of the layout of Regina's house. It was too high up for her to look into but she paused, listening for any sounds.

She was about to move on when her phone buzzed – a call – a call from Regina. She quickly answered it with a hushed hello.

"What are you doing?" Regina said, also keeping her voice low.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why are you here?"

Emma looked around her, half expecting Regina to come around the corner.

"How did you …"

"Magic," Regina said. "I thought it would be wise to take some magical precautions so I know who was coming onto my property. I don't plan on being caught off guard. Now what are you doing here? This is not what we talked about."

"No, it isn't because you didn't take any time to actually discuss this," Emma said. "Look, I'm just here to make sure you are ok. I don't like the idea of you being alone with her."

"Yes, well, if she catches you here, then me trying to talk to her will all be for nothing, so I need you to leave before she does find you. Remember, she had more powerful magic than what you are used to using."

"No shit," Emma said. "She's the Dark One, another reason you shouldn't be alone with her."

She heard Regina sigh.

"Do you trust me or not Miss Swan?" Regina asked.

Emma paused. And even as another moment passed by she knew this was the kind of question she should have answered immediately.

"It's not about trusting you," she said finally. "It's about not trusting her."

"Well, right now at least, we need to trust her enough to get some information about this future time line and this Alex. I don't want to go into this blind," Regina said. "Strong arm tactics aren't going to work with this Emma any more than they would work on you, which means getting the information subtlety, something I think even you would agree, I am better at. Now, I appreciate your concern, but you need to leave."

"Fine," Emma said through gritted teeth. "But you, you have to text me more often. If I don't hear from you for long stretches, then I am coming back here and at that point strong arm tactics are what we are going to use."

Regina didn't answer, merely hung up and Emma almost called her back to reiterate her terms, but decided to let it go. She walked back to car her anger.

How did that woman manage to get under her skin all the time?

Getting into her car, she slumped behind the wheel, unwilling to leave – at least not while she was feeling stubborn.

"Would serve her right if I don't kiss her when I go traipsing back to the past," Emma mumbled to herself.


	56. Chapter 56

Emma wasn’t happy about being summarily dismissed by Regina, but she also didn’t want to go home where she would probably do nothing but sit around thinking about all of this.

Instead, she ended up going to pick up Henry.

One thing she and Regina could agree on was that they didn’t want Henry hurt in any of this so they had been keeping him at arm’s length. Or at least as much as they could with a kid as inquisitive as their own.

When she got to her parents’ home, it was her mom who answered the door. She hadn’t told them she was coming by.

“Hi honey,” Snow said in her normal cheerfulness. “You are a little late for dinner, but I could warm something up if you are hungry.”

“No,” she said. “I’m good.”

“Well come on in,” Snow said. “I’m actually really glad you stopped by. Your father and I have something we need to speak to you about.”

“Ok,” Emma said stepping inside and starting to take off her jacket. “What did you want to talk about?”

“For starters, about the future you that has been running around town.”

Emma had her jacket part way off when Snow said this and by the time it was fully off she was yelling for Henry.

“What?” he said, coming around the corner.

“You told your grandparents about the future me,” Emma said.

“Sorry,” he said. “It just sort of came out.”

“So it’s true?” Snow asked.

“Yes, it’s true and it’s complicated, and it’s nothing you or dad need to be concerned about,” Emma said. “Regina and I are handling it.”

“You know I thought something was off about you when you called me and were asking my advice about Regina,” Snow said. “I thought you were merely distracted by it, but that wasn’t you, was it?”

Emma shook her head no.

“Ok then, that settles it,” Snow said. “You are going to tell your father and I exactly what is going on.”

“I told you, it’s nothing you need to worry about and it’s being handled,” Emma said.

“Your future self is here and I shouldn’t be concerned about that? Me, your mother? You think I shouldn’t be concerned about your future?” Snow said crossing her arms and giving Emma a look at that made her immediately wonder if this is how she would have been looked at if she had grown up with her parents and was being scolded by them.

“Of course you should be concerned about my future, I wasn’t saying that.”

“Then what are you saying.”

“Look that future me isn’t even me. I mean, she is me, but she isn’t me from this timeline, so that isn’t my future anymore than the other future me that is having dinner with Regina right now.”

“Wait, there is another future you here right now?”

Crap, Emma thought, now she had done it. She had wanted to keep her parents from knowing any of this, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen now. She gave an eerily similar look to Henry that her mom was giving her.

He wisely disappeared back around the corner.

“Mom…”

“Kitchen table now,” Snow directed her. “We’re going to have a talk.”

Emma reluctantly followed her mom into the kitchen, only for her father to join them moment later. Henry had come in at first and Emma sent him away.

“What is going on?” Charming asked.

“It’s kind of a long story,” Emma said.

“We’ve got all night,” Snow responded.

Emma began to tell them the story – not that she wanted to but because she knew her parents weren’t going to let this go. She wondered how much she should tell them though – specifically about her and Regina in those other timelines.

In the end she decided to tell them all of it – well most of it. She left out the parts where she had kissed Regina in this timeline and in the past.

There were some things her parents just didn’t need to know.

But she was way out of her depth and she realized she needed someone to talk to about this, seeing as she and Regina couldn’t seem to talk about anything without fighting, her parents were the next logical choices.

In the telling of the story, she had lost all sense of time. She did know that at some point her mom had gotten up, fixed her a plate of leftovers and placed it in front of her. She continued to tell her story in between bites.

Her parents would occasionally stop her to ask questions.

Even in the telling, she realized how complicated this all was to just keep straight.

When she finished, they were both silent.

“Let me get this straight,” Charming said. “There is an evil future version of you in town right now and you left her alone with Regina, someone you have said this Emma seems obsessed with. A future you who is the Dark One. Do you think it was wise to leave her alone?”

It was probably the last thing she expected her father to say.

“It’s not like I wanted to leave her there, but you heard what she said to me. She doesn’t want me around there,” Emma said. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Maybe we should back up a moment,” Snow said. “After all, Regina can take care of herself. And it’s difficult to get her to do things like accept help.”

“Thank you.” Emma said.

But from the look her mom gave her, she got the feeling that she wasn’t exactly on her side.  
“I think what we need to discuss here is how you were planning on going to some future timeline to take on some magical being you know next to nothing about,” Snow said. “And you apparently weren’t going to tell us.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Oh, really?”

“I don’t even want to go,” Emma said. “But Regina is hellbent on it and I can’t let her go alone.”

“Why not?”

“What do you mean why not?” Emma asked. “Number one, she shouldn’t be going at all. Number two, I can’t let her do this alone because what if something happens to her? How can I let her do this alone when I could be there to help?”

“I think what your mom is trying to ask, is why do you feel so strongly about going with her?”

Emma was confused by the question. Why wouldn’t she try to help if she could? Why would she even consider letting Regina doing this alone?

When Emma continued to be silent, Snow reached out and put her hand on hers.

“Honey, do you have feelings for Regina? It’s ok if you do. I just think you should really think about why you are willing to do this and what this all means that you and Regina are together in these other time lines.”

Emma got up and stood behind the chair, her hands clutching the top of it.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I don’t know how I feel about Regina because she won’t let anyone get to close to her except some future version of me. Just when I think I’m getting somewhere with her, she and I end up in a fight.”

“I mean how are she and I even supposed to work? How can you even say you are ok with it?”

“If you love her, your father and I are not going to stand in your way. You can’t stand in the way of love. Believe me,” Snow said glancing at her husband with a smile. “that is a lesson even Regina has learned by now.”

“Well, what is her problem?” Emma asked. “Why can’t she see that I’m not the enemy? Look, I admit that I have not handled all of this as well as I should have. I should have listened when that other future me was here the first time and maybe none of this would be   happening now.”

“You can’t blame yourself,” Charming said. “There are forces here beyond your control.”

Emma rubbed her forehead. This whole thing had gotten out of control a long time ago. Probably from the first moment her other future self showed up here. How had that future her done it – how had she managed to have civil conversations with Regina?

She didn’t hate Regina, but Regina made it difficult to get close to her.

Sighing, she sat back down.

“I don’t know what to do,” Emma shrugged. “I have absolutely no idea.”

“I guess the first thing to ask is – do you think Regina can get the information from this other you that she is seeking?” Charming asked.

“She thinks she can,” Emma said. “I don’t know though. I don’t trust this other me. She is obsessed with Regina and that makes her dangerous. Regina thinks she can handle her but I don’t think it is that simple.”

“Then that is where we start?” Charming said.

“We?”

“Yes, we. Did you think we would let you face this alone?”

“I appreciate the offer, but I think this something Regina and I are going to have do together, on our own,” Emma said. “She’s dead set about going to this future time and confronting Alex and rescuing other me. There is no talking her out of it, which means I have to go with her, which means you two need to keep an eye on Henry because there is no way we are making a family trip out of this.”

 “Ok,” Charming said, holding his hand up to stop Snow from interrupting. “I don’t like it, but I understand it. This is your quest, well your quest with Regina. But you are in the here and now right now so what can we do to help?”

Emma thought about it a moment. “The spellbook I mentioned. It was on that ship, but I couldn’t find it. The Jolly Roger should have been towed into the harbor by now. I don’t know why it’s important, but it must be. Can you search for it?”

“Consider it done.”

“I think your instincts are right in this,” Snow said. “And if you say that this other you isn’t to be trusted then you were right in going to check in on Regina. And whether she likes it or not, it means you have to continue to protect her.”

“How do I do that when she has told me to stay away?”

“Since when have you ever listened to what Regina has told you?” Snow smiled.


	57. Chapter 57

Regina could admit that she felt a little uncomfortable being alone with this Emma all night. She hadn’t slept well at all, fearful of something happening. The night before they had eaten dinner but hadn’t spoken too much before Emma said she was tired and wanted to retire for the night.

She offered her the guest bedroom and some clothes and they said good night. Regina sat up for a long time, thinking about what she could possibly say to this woman to get her to help because whether they liked it or not they needed her help. This Emma was the only one who knew how to get to that other timeline. She was the only one who knew about this Alex and possibly how to defeat her.

When she did manage to get some sleep, she woke with no more answers than she had the night before. Although she had texted Emma to let her know she was fine – as required – she hadn’t asked Emma her opinion. She had thought about it, thought about calling her to ask her what she thought the next step should be. In the end, she hadn’t though. She hadn’t because she wasn’t sure how helpful Emma would be. These two Emmas may technically be the same person, but they weren’t really. Their different experiences had made them different people.

Plus, we don’t often know ourselves well – or atleast don’t want to admit certain truths about ourselves. Dealing with two Emmas, Regina wasn’t sure either would be helpful in understanding the other.

She had gotten up and dressed while Emma apparently was still in the guest room asleep. She didn’t go to wake her until breakfast was done.

This Emma had had no trouble sleeping and Regina felt a little silly for losing out on her own sleep because she didn’t 100 percent trust this woman.

After eating, Emma showered and once dressed returned downstairs, where Regina was sitting in the main room. She shouldn’t have been surprised that Emma took a seat also on the couch.

It was time for them to talk and they both knew it.

“Why did Alex believe she could send you back here and you would bring me back to her?” Regina asked.

“Like I said, she would talk to me a lot while she had me prisoner. Believe it or not, I even listened. I tried to sympathize with her.”

“Did you?” Regina interrupted. “Sympathize with her for real?”

Emma shrugged, “A little, I guess. She didn’t ask for this. She made that clear. She wouldn’t have chosen for things to have happened like they did or so she said. She hated Gold for doing this to her.”

“Then why not kill him and take his power?”

“She’s unpredictable in some ways, a lot of ways I guess. You see, she felt bad about what happened to Belle. She was a child and she didn’t understand death or why Belle thought she was her mother. With Gold though, I think she kept him alive for two reasons – one to ensure I or the other Emma would kill him and take the Dark One’s power so she could enact her plan. The other reason was I think she thought keeping him alive was a better way to punish him than killing him,” she said. “Once Belle died, Gold fell apart. He was never the same afterward. And I think part of that was because he knew, he knew she had killed Belle even as a child and so in a way, he killed Belle by creating her.”

Regina thought about it and she knew it was true. Not only would losing Belle devastate Gold, to know he was responsible for it would have destroyed him.

“Did Alex start to trust you, is that why she sent you here?”

“If you are concerned that I’m here to bring you back to her, I would hope by now you know that isn’t the case,” Emma said, staring at her now with an intensity. “I would hope you know that you can trust me even if you can’t trust the me who is here in this time.”

“It’s not about you,” Regina said. “That’s not why I’m asking. I’m trying to figure out who this Alex is. From the moment I watched the videos you did and I learned about this child and then learned that she is now an adult, the more I learn, the more I’m trying to figure out not just what she wants, but who she is. She was created with my soul so how much of who she is and the actions she is taking is because it was my soul that brought her to life?”

It was a question she had been continuing to wrestle with because if Gold had felt responsible for Belle’s death because it was his creation who killed her, what responsibility did Regina have in all of this when her soul brought this child into being? She knew she probably shoudn’t feel any responsibility for this Alex especially when they weren’t even in the same time line. But Regina couldn’t ignore it either.

That other Regina had been scared when she had figured it out and knew her soul was being drawn into the vessel. She was afraid of what the living magic could do with her power. Regina realized she too was scared of what this Alex was capable of when she too had been capable of causing so much harm.

Suddenly, she wished that it was her Emma there with her and not this one.

“I don’t think you two are anything alike,” Emma said. “There is something not human about her. When I first held her as a child, I thought I was looking into your eyes. They were exactly the same at least I thought they were. But as she has grown they seem to have changed because now when you look in her eyes there is nothing there.”

“It’s like I can look into your eyes right now,” Emma said, inching forward while maintaining eye contact with her. “I can look into your eyes and I can see you. I can see all the pain and sadness that has led you to this moment. I can also see love and a capacity for caring that barely scratches the surface of who you are. I see you.”

Regina could tell Emma was leaning in for a kiss and she debated for a split second whether to let it happen or not. She had no desire to kiss this Emma but she allowed it to happen so that she could continue to try and get information out of her.

The kiss was a little clumsy at fist as if Emma too was trying to decide whether to through with it or not. Emma quickly recovered her resolve though and intensified the kiss, but this time Regina did back off.

“Sorry,” Emma apologized.

“You know for any of us to have a future, we have to deal with this Alex,” Regina said. “We will have to face her and while I hope she can simply be reasoned with, there is a good chance given all she has done up to this point that there will be a battle. I have no wish to confront her in such a manner but if she is willing to go to these lengths to get me to her time, then I can’t believe she doesn’t have some ill intent on her mind.”

“I won’t let her hurt you,” Emma said.

“But you do believe she intends to?”

Emma moved back – and Regina could tell she was losing her again. She clearly knew something about what Alex’s intentions were, but was apparently unwilling to speak of it yet.

“I wish I could tell you more, to be more useful, but I don’t know what to say.”

“You battled her, what kind of magic was she using – light or dark?”

“Both.”

“Both? Really?” Regina said.

“Why is that surprising, you have both?”

“Yes, but somehow I assumed she would simply have dark magic,” Regina said, sitting back in her seat. “Now the question becomes does she have both because of who she is or because of who I am.”

“I think you are concerning yourself too much with whether she is like you or not, I’m telling you she isn’t,” Emma said. “She’s not wired like a human being should be. If we really are going to confront her in battle that is the first thing you need to realize. You need to see her for what she really is or else you will do what I did the first time and fail. I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t fight her because I thought I was fighting you.”

“This is your world we will be going to,” Regina said. “So what would you suggest we do?”

“She is expecting me to bring you back, to bring you right to her at the library. We could do the direct approach.”

“You don’t think she might be expecting something like that. I mean does she 100 percent trust you to bring me back to her?”

“Probably not.”

“You haven’t said much about Henry, your Henry. Is he safe, is he still with Robin?”

“Yes, he is safe,” Emma said.

“When did you speak to him last?”

Emma stood up and began to pace. It seemed like this was something all the Emmas did.

“Before I went to see Gold. I came in to town and tracked him down first,” Emma said. “He didn’t want to speak to me, he never does, but I begged him to hear me out. I told him I had a plan to fix things. I told him I was going to go back in time and make it so that you never died. I told him I was going to do it right this time around. But hey, the kid is used to me disappointing him so this shouldn’t be any different.”

“You have to stop being so hard on yourself,” Regina said, as she also stood and approached her. “You made mistakes, God knows I can relate. But your Regina forgave you. She forgave you and maybe it’s time you start forgiving yourself.”

“I don’t know how.”

Regina led her back to the couch and sat down next to her. “It’s not a quick or easy process. In fact, I don’t believe it’s a process that really ever ends because life it always going to throw hardships in your path that are going to make you want to give up. When I was with Robin, I was really beginning to think that maybe the universe was giving me another chance to get it right. Then Marian was brought back and there was really nothing for me to do at that point. I couldn’t fight for him. Not when he had a wife and a son. I have ruined too many families in my lifetime, I couldn’t do it again. So I was sitting in here, locked away from the world, trying to figure out what to do next. The thing was, I never once thought of going all Evil Queen on the town. I may have had some unkind thoughts about your counterpart here, but that is as far as it went. You see I had already turned that corner, made the decision that the person I was, was not the person I wanted to be. That is what you need to decide, you need to decide what kind of person you are going to be going forward.”

“I want to be less afraid,” Emma said.

Regina tilted her head slightly, “how do you mean?”

“I’m afraid all the time,” she admitted. “I don’t know how it started or when it did exactly, I think maybe it was right after you and I, I mean me and my Regina had sex. I was afraid of what it meant. I was afraid of how to move forward with her so I pushed her away and then it all snowballed. I don’t know why I let it get so out of hand. Then she was dead and I was still afraid that someone might find out what we had done. Then it was me being afraid of that thing growing inside of me and what that meant.

“That first time when I held Alex in my arm and she called me mommy, I was so afraid and I ran. She didn’t just defeat me with her magic to get me to leave town, she saw inside of me and saw through me. I remember, I was on the ground, she was walking toward me, but she didn’t make a move to do anything. She just knelt down and she whispered to me. She said she was going to bring you back, that you were the one she needed, not me and that I should do what I do best and run away. And I did, I ran from Storybrooke, I ran.”

Emma started to cry and Regina pulled her in to her and let her cry, let her get it all out of her. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized how lost this Emma really was.

“You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

Emma pulled away from Regina, but she wasn’t looking at Regina. She and Regina were both looking at the Emma of this time who had spoken the words.

“Miss Swan …” Regina began, but Emma held her hand up to stop her.  
“I told my parents about what has been going on,” she said. “I told them and of course the first thing they want to know is how they can help. It got me thinking that of course they would offer to help because they are my family and for a long time I didn’t have that. I didn’t have other people I could rely on to have my back. I have that now, but what if I didn’t. What if my life had gone down another path. How many time lines are there out there? How many different versions of me are out there. In how many of these versions did you not cast the curse and so I grew up with my family in the Enchanted Forest and none of this even exists? There is no way to know, but what we do know is that there is me, there is her, and there is the other future me and we’re all involved in this so maybe it’s time to stop with games, with manipulations, with lies and with the fear we feel because at the end of the day we don’t know what our futures really hold.”

Emma came closer to them and she knelt down, looking up at the other Emma. “I don’t trust you,” she admitted. “I don’t trust you because when I look at you, I see me as a person I don’t recognize. But maybe you and I aren’t as different as I try to make us out to be. Because I fear things too. I fear this future that the other Emma painted – the one where I am married to Regina and have another child. I fear it because when you have so much, you always fear the day you will lose it. And I fear this other future you say I am supposed to have here – one where I am with Killian and not Regina. I fear it because I know Killian isn’t the one I want to be with.” Emma glanced briefly at Regina. “I know why you have this fear built up in you,” Emma continued. “It’s because you lost something you can’t get back. But you can’t replace your Regina with this one. I know you miss her, but this one here siting beside you isn’t her. Don’t insult the memory of your Regina by coming after this one. You want to stop being afraid? Then help me, help us defeat this Alex. Will you do that?”

The other Emma looked at Regina first before turning back to her counterpart. She nodded yes.

“Good,” Emma said, standing up. “You are going to need to tell us the truth of why you came back here.”

Again she looked at Regina. “I came back here for you,” the other Emma said. “I wasn’t lying when I said Alex sent me here to get you and bring you back. I hadn’t quite worked out in my head yet what to do because I don’t trust her. I knew she was just using me because I could come back here and she couldn’t.”

“Explain that to me.” Regina said. “The fact she can’t come back here could expose a weakness of hers. How did she explain it?”

“It’s because she doesn’t exist here,” the other Emma said. “I do so I could travel here, as could that other Emma from the other future.”

“How can you take Regina back to that time then?” present Emma asked. “Since that Regina is dead, how can she move to that timeline?”

Other Emma shrugged. “That is a little beyond my understanding. All I know is that Alex says it’s possible.”

Regina considered this a moment, thinking it through. “My soul,” she said. “I think maybe it’s possible because my soul would be a match to that timeline’s Regina. Some of it must still exist in that time, inside Alex.”

Even as she said, she was about to discount it, because if she could travel there because of that, why couldn’t Alex travel back here.

“I don’t really want to think about any part of Regina’s soul inside Alex,” other Emma said. “I was hoping that she is resting in peace somewhere.”

“Even if a part of her soul exists there wouldn’t that mean that Alex could travel to any time line where you exist though?” her Emma said.

Regina was somewhat surprised Emma had come to that conclusion as well. Another theory had already begun to form in Regina’s mind – one she wasn’t about to say out loud.

And that was maybe she could travel to that time with Emma because their souls matched. Maybe it had nothing to do with that other Regina’s soul and every thing to do with having one of the Emma’s soul there with her.

“I don’t know,” Regina answered finally. “Let’s just be thankful that Alex is limited in that way at least.”

“We need to start thinking about strategy, about what to do when we get there,” this timeline’s Emma said. “I told my parents we would handle this, that I didn’t want them involved because someone needs to be back here with Henry. But what about the people of your Storybrooke? Can they be relied on to help if needed? Do they want Alex gone?”

“I think we have to do this ourselves,” future Emma said. “The people of my Storybrooke fear Alex and her powers because they saw her defeat me. They aren’t going to fight her unless they were completely certain we would win. As for my parents, of course, they’ll want to help, but I don’t know how much I want them involved or put into danger. My Henry will need them if this goes south.”

“Fair enough,” Emma said. “We will do this on our own then.”

“Henry,” future Emma said. “There is something you should know about him.”

“What?” Regina and current Emma said at the same time.

“He has been spending time with Alex,” future Emma said. “If we can convince him to help us, that might be a away to catch her off guard, but convincing him to help might be an issue.”

“Why is he spending time with her?” Regina asked.

“Because she promised to bring his mom back, she promised him you.”

“Surely, he understands that I am not his mother,” Regina said.

“I don’t think he cares what version of you he gets,” future Emma said. “Losing you nearly destroyed him. He just wants another chance to have his mom back. Alex told him she could make it happen. He trusts her more than he trusts me so getting him to help will be complicated.”

Regina held her tongue because she almost lashed out at this Emma. How could she let this happen? How could she let Henry anywhere near this Alex? But she knew saying it wouldn’t help matters at all. She had already told this Emma she needed to learn to forgive herself, so she couldn’t very well berate her now.

One thing she knew for certain, that Henry may not be her Henry but she wasn’t going to let him get hurt in this if she could help it.


End file.
